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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 came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. present — a gift
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. cold — an illness
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. rule — a law
  9. rush — hurry
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. row — a line
  12. sharp — clever
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. rule — government
  15. cold — not warm
  16. present — there
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. present — the time now
  21. row — to paddle
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. straw — a straw man

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