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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. fork — in a road
  4. cold — not warm
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. root — of a word
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. cold — an illness
  11. root — the cause
  12. board — a committee
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. rule — government
  16. deal — to handle
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. sharp — clever
  20. root — of a plant
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. rule — a law
  24. board — to get on

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