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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  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 took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. net — in sport
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. rule — government
  6. wind — moving air
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. shower — rain
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. net — after costs
  11. club — for golf
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. net — for catching
  14. shower — to wash
  15. tube — a container
  16. club — for dancing
  17. club — a group
  18. game — wild animals
  19. fork — in a road
  20. game — a match
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wind — moving air
  23. tube — the underground
  24. tube — in a tire

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