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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 · bore · rule · dip · wound · kid · fall · rash

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. rash — hasty
  3. wound — an injury
  4. fork — in a road
  5. rash — a series
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. kid — child
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. kid — to tease
  12. fall — the season
  13. bore — to tire
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. rule — a law
  16. fall — to drop
  17. rule — government
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bore — to drill
  22. fall — to drop
  23. dip — to sink
  24. dip — to dunk

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