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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. net — for catching
  4. rule — government
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. race — humankind
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. net — after costs
  9. rule — a law
  10. race — the arms race
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. fork — in a road
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. march — the month
  15. plane — a tool
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. net — in sport
  19. race — a contest
  20. march — music
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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