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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 120 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rule — a law
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. rock — a stone
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. face — to confront
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. scale — in music
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. face — to point toward
  14. court — of a king
  15. rule — government
  16. face — part of the head
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. fork — in a road
  19. scale — size or range
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. deal — to handle
  22. court — for sport
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. court — of 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