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

Word bank: fork · straw · date · mate · capital · rule

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. rule — a law
  5. rule — government
  6. date — the fruit
  7. capital — a city
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. mate — to breed
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. mate — a partner
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. capital — money
  16. mate — a friend
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. straw — a straw man

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