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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. saw — the tool
  3. mine — for digging
  4. march — music
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. wind — moving air
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. rash — a series
  12. wind — moving air
  13. ball — a great time
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rule — a law
  16. march — the month
  17. ball — a dance
  18. fork — in a road
  19. rash — hasty
  20. rule — government
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. march — the month
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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