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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. net — after costs
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. last — final
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. net — for catching
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mine — for digging
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. net — in sport
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. fork — in a road
  17. last — finally
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. bat — the animal
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. rule — government
  22. wake — a trail
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. last — to go 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