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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. game — wild animals
  3. land — a country
  4. tube — the underground
  5. land — ground
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. last — final
  8. fork — in a road
  9. tube — a container
  10. rule — government
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. last — to go on
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. land — to come down
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. rule — a law
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. game — a match
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. last — finally

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