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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 116 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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. rule — a law
  7. board — a committee
  8. degree — temperature
  9. saw — the tool
  10. lie — to recline
  11. wound — an injury
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. rule — government
  14. saw — the tool
  15. degree — from a university
  16. wound — an injury
  17. board — to get on
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. degree — an amount
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. fork — in a road

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