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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. last — final
  3. march — the month
  4. chip — to eat
  5. bank — for money
  6. court — for sport
  7. chip — for betting
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. bank — for money
  10. mine — for digging
  11. court — of a king
  12. fork — in a road
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. march — music
  15. march — the month
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. last — to go on
  19. last — finally
  20. court — of law
  21. bank — of a river
  22. rule — government
  23. rule — a law
  24. fork — to eat with

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com