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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: fork · ruler · mine · shower · present · cold · jam · rule

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. fork — in a road
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. rule — government
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. present — a gift
  10. cold — not warm
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. present — there
  13. shower — rain
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. present — the time now
  16. cold — an illness
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. rule — a law
  23. shower — to wash
  24. ruler — a monarch

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