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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. scale — in music
  3. content — the amount
  4. rule — government
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. rule — a law
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. content — happy
  14. vault — a safe
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. fork — in a road
  17. file — a tool
  18. scale — size or range
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. foot — a measure
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a line of people

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