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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. march — the month
  3. drill — a practice
  4. current — happening now
  5. rule — a law
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. rule — government
  8. mate — a partner
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. march — music
  13. fork — in a road
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. current — of water
  16. mate — a friend
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. drill — army training
  19. march — the month
  20. current — electric
  21. drill — the tool
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — not warm
  24. mate — to breed

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