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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: mate · scale · rule · fork · firm · spring · hand · track

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. firm — decided
  4. hand — in cards
  5. track — a path
  6. track — a song
  7. firm — a company
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. spring — of water
  10. mate — to breed
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. spring — a coil
  14. fork — in a road
  15. firm — steady
  16. rule — government
  17. spring — the season
  18. scale — in music
  19. mate — a partner
  20. track — to keep track
  21. scale — size or range
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. hand — help
  24. rule — a law

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