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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: content · fork · mate · spell · kid · ruler · ball · rule

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. rule — a law
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — child
  5. ball — a dance
  6. mate — to breed
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. content — happy
  10. fork — in a road
  11. rule — government
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. mate — a friend
  16. spell — letters
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. spell — a short time
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. ball — a great time
  21. content — the amount
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. spell — magic
  24. mate — a partner

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