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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. rule — a law
  3. march — the month
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. land — ground
  6. tube — the underground
  7. pit — in a race
  8. tube — a container
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. march — the month
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. hand — in cards
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — a country
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. hand — help
  18. fork — in a road
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. rule — government
  21. deal — to handle
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. march — music
  24. hand — part of the body

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