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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. tube — the underground
  6. rule — a law
  7. cold — not warm
  8. board — to get on
  9. cold — an illness
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. mate — a friend
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. hand — help
  14. pound — a weight
  15. rule — government
  16. mate — to breed
  17. board — a committee
  18. mate — a partner
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. fork — in a road
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. tube — a container
  23. hand — in cards
  24. tube — in a tire

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