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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: bound · fork · ruler · branch · field · rule · club · lie

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. rule — government
  4. field — farmland
  5. fork — in a road
  6. rule — a law
  7. field — a subject
  8. branch — a division
  9. bound — tied together
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. club — for golf
  13. bound — certain
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. club — for dancing
  18. bound — obliged
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. club — a group
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. field — for sport
  23. lie — to recline
  24. ruler — for measuring

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