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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: chest · date · rule · cell · key · fall · fork · wave

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. rule — a law
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. rule — government
  6. fall — to drop
  7. key — in music
  8. key — the most important part
  9. chest — of your body
  10. fork — in a road
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. key — for a lock
  14. cell — in biology
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. date — the fruit
  19. fall — to drop
  20. chest — of your body
  21. fall — the season
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. cell — a phone
  24. chest — a box

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