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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. land — a country
  3. band — a ring
  4. staff — employees
  5. fork — in a road
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. rule — government
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. land — to come down
  13. rash — a series
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. foot — a measure
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. staff — a stick
  18. land — ground
  19. band — a music group
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. rash — hasty
  22. staff — employees
  23. date — the fruit
  24. rule — a law

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