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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. kid — to tease
  3. row — a line
  4. rule — government
  5. key — for a lock
  6. fork — in a road
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. last — final
  10. firm — decided
  11. last — to go on
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. firm — steady
  14. key — in music
  15. kid — child
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. last — finally
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. row — to paddle
  20. key — the most important part
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. firm — a company
  23. rule — a law
  24. pitcher — a jug

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