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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. rule — government
  4. court — for sport
  5. clip — for paper
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. dip — to sink
  8. club — for golf
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. club — a group
  11. mine — for digging
  12. club — for dancing
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. clip — a video
  17. fall — the season
  18. court — of law
  19. fall — to drop
  20. court — of a king
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. clip — to cut
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. rule — a law

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