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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: rule · last · date · track · cell · pound · charge · fork

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. track — to keep track
  3. pound — a weight
  4. last — final
  5. last — finally
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. charge — electricity
  8. rule — government
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. track — a song
  11. cell — a phone
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. date — the fruit
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. charge — in control
  18. last — to go on
  19. charge — a price
  20. cell — in biology
  21. rule — a law
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. fork — in a road
  24. track — a path

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