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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. chest — of your body
  3. snap — to click
  4. band — a music group
  5. chest — a box
  6. band — a ring
  7. fork — in a road
  8. pop — soda
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. mate — a friend
  12. rule — a law
  13. chest — of your body
  14. pop — to visit
  15. rule — government
  16. pop — music
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. mate — a partner
  19. pitch — completely
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. mate — to breed

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