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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. rock — music
  3. rule — government
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. bore — to drill
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. rock — a stone
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. rush — hurry
  11. rule — a law
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. net — after costs
  14. fork — in a road
  15. chair — a leader
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. content — the amount
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. content — happy
  20. net — for catching
  21. bore — to tire
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. net — in sport

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