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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. fork — in a road
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. cell — a phone
  5. bore — to drill
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. cell — in biology
  10. sharp — clever
  11. rule — a law
  12. rule — government
  13. land — ground
  14. land — a country
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. vault — a safe
  17. cold — an illness
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. bore — to tire
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. cold — the Cold War

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