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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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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: game · rash · cold · ruler · pit · object · wave · fork

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  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. game — a match
  2. rash — hasty
  3. fork — in a road
  4. object — a thing
  5. game — wild animals
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. pit — in a race
  8. object — to protest
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. rash — a series
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — not warm
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. pit — a hole
  21. object — an aim
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. cold — the Cold War
  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