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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. rule — a law
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. stem — to come from
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. present — the time now
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. file — a tool
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. file — a line of people
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. rule — government
  17. fork — in a road
  18. file — a document
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. present — a gift
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. present — there

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