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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: chair · jam · cold · pitcher · nail · rule · wave · fork

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. cold — an illness
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. chair — a leader
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. fork — in a road
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. cold — not warm
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. rule — government
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. rule — a law
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. pitcher — a jug

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