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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. mark — a trace
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. rule — a law
  8. wake — a trail
  9. stock — goods
  10. mark — a grade
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. cold — not warm
  13. net — after costs
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. net — for catching
  17. fork — in a road
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. net — in sport
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. rule — government
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. stock — shares
  24. fork — to eat with

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