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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. mate — a friend
  4. spring — of water
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. fork — in a road
  7. spring — the season
  8. pop — music
  9. rule — a law
  10. pop — to visit
  11. mate — a partner
  12. rule — government
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. spring — a coil
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. prune — to trim
  17. pop — soda
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. mine — for digging
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. mate — to breed
  23. prune — to trim
  24. mine — belonging to me

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