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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: wound · rash · scale · fork · cap · rule · ball · rest

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. rule — government
  3. ball — a dance
  4. cap — a lid
  5. cap — a hat
  6. rash — hasty
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. wound — an injury
  13. fork — in a road
  14. rest — a break
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rash — a series
  17. rest — what's left
  18. scale — in music
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. wound — an injury
  21. cap — of ice
  22. rule — a law
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — for weighing

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