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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 120 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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. fall — to drop
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. last — final
  7. board — to get on
  8. mine — for digging
  9. rule — government
  10. last — finally
  11. fork — in a road
  12. rule — a law
  13. board — a committee
  14. kick — in football
  15. last — to go on
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. fall — the season
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. spring — the season
  21. spring — of water
  22. fall — to drop
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. spring — a coil

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