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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chair · fork · wake · stick · rule · march

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. chair — a leader
  4. march — the month
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. fork — in a road
  7. rule — government
  8. march — the month
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. march — music
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. rule — a law
  18. stick — a piece of wood

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