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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. fork — in a road
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. pit — a hole
  5. rule — government
  6. mine — for digging
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. field — a subject
  9. land — a country
  10. rule — a law
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. field — farmland
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. band — a music group
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. band — a ring
  20. field — for sport
  21. land — ground
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. land — to come down
  24. pit — in a race

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