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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. chair — a leader
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. degree — from a university
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. sharp — clever
  9. saw — the tool
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. fork — in a road
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — temperature
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. rule — government
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. saw — the tool

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