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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 116 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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Word bank
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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: cell · fine · rule · spring · mine · track · straw · fork

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. spring — a coil
  3. track — to keep track
  4. fine — high quality
  5. fork — in a road
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. cell — a phone
  9. rule — a law
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. spring — of water
  15. rule — government
  16. track — a song
  17. spring — the season
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cell — in biology
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. mine — for digging
  24. fine — all right

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