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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. rule — government
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. rule — a law
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. wake — a trail
  12. row — a line
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. game — wild animals
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. game — a match
  18. fork — in a road
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. row — to paddle
  22. sharp — clever
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. game — a kind of play

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