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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. rock — music
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. drill — a practice
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. pop — soda
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. rule — a law
  11. rash — a series
  12. drill — army training
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. mine — for digging
  15. pop — music
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. drill — the tool
  18. fork — in a road
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. pop — to visit
  21. rash — hasty
  22. stem — to come from
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. rock — a stone

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