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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. shower — to wash
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. bound — obliged
  6. squash — to crush
  7. fork — in a road
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bound — tied together
  10. club — for dancing
  11. wind — moving air
  12. rule — government
  13. wind — moving air
  14. rule — a law
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. shower — rain
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. bound — certain
  19. club — for golf
  20. club — a group
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. squash — the sport
  24. wound — an injury

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