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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. season — in sport
  5. fork — in a road
  6. last — finally
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. last — to go on
  11. season — of the year
  12. bat — the animal
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. band — a music group
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. rule — a law
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. last — final
  20. band — a ring
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. trunk — of a car

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