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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 116 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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cell — a phone
  5. staff — employees
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. rule — government
  9. staff — a stick
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cap — a lid
  14. rule — a law
  15. cell — in biology
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. band — a music group
  18. band — a ring
  19. cap — of ice
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. fork — in a road
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. staff — employees

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