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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: swing · lash · stand · fork · rule · kid · mine · pop

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. rule — government
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. stand — to bear
  5. pop — music
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. kid — child
  8. swing — to play on
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. mine — for digging
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. pop — to visit
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. swing — music
  20. kid — to tease
  21. pop — soda
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. rule — a law
  24. swing — in golf

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