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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: fork · mine · kid · pop · board · rule · face · key

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. face — to confront
  4. face — part of the head
  5. key — the most important part
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. key — for a lock
  8. fork — in a road
  9. rule — government
  10. rule — a law
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. kid — child
  13. face — to point toward
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. pop — music
  16. board — a committee
  17. mine — for digging
  18. kid — to tease
  19. pop — soda
  20. board — to get on
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. key — in music
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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