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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 120 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: fork · rule · pitch · spell · bound · game · trunk · squash

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. spell — magic
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. spell — letters
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. bound — certain
  7. bound — obliged
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. squash — to crush
  11. rule — a law
  12. squash — the sport
  13. pitch — completely
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. spell — a short time
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. game — wild animals
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. game — a match
  21. fork — in a road
  22. rule — government
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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