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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. drill — army training
  3. content — happy
  4. rule — government
  5. board — a committee
  6. drill — the tool
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. field — farmland
  9. field — for sport
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. clip — to cut
  12. board — to get on
  13. field — a subject
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. fork — in a road
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. rule — a law
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. clip — a video
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. clip — for paper
  23. drill — a practice
  24. content — the amount

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