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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 116 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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. game — wild animals
  4. cap — a hat
  5. rule — a law
  6. prune — to trim
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. season — of the year
  10. fork — in a road
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. prune — to trim
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. bore — to tire
  15. season — in sport
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. cap — of ice
  19. bore — to drill
  20. cap — a lid
  21. snap — to click
  22. rule — government
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. game — a match

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