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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: leaves · fork · hand · kid · drill · mate · lean · rule

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. kid — child
  6. drill — a practice
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. rule — government
  9. mate — to breed
  10. drill — army training
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. fork — in a road
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. hand — in cards
  15. lean — thin
  16. rule — a law
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. drill — the tool
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. kid — to tease
  21. lean — to bend
  22. mate — a partner
  23. hand — help
  24. lean — to rest against

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