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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 · cold · march · mine · dip · rule · bulb · bay

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. mine — for digging
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. rule — a law
  7. march — music
  8. bulb — for light
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. march — the month
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. bulb — for light
  13. rule — government
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — an illness
  16. march — the month
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. fork — in a road
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. dip — to sink
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. bay — a horse colour

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