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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. rule — a law
  3. pass — a permit
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. mate — to breed
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. mate — a partner
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. file — a tool
  17. fork — in a road
  18. mate — a friend
  19. file — a document
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. file — a line of people
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. rule — government

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