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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. rule — government
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. rule — a law
  7. game — wild animals
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. fork — in a road
  10. mine — for digging
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. date — the fruit
  15. sharp — clever
  16. plane — a tool
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. game — a match
  24. rule — to rule out

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