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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: wind · fork · bowl · mug · rock · chest · rule · prune

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. rock — music
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. rock — a stone
  5. wind — moving air
  6. rule — government
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. mug — a face
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. mug — a cup
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. prune — to trim
  19. chest — a box
  20. prune — to trim
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. fork — in a road
  23. wind — moving air
  24. mug — to rob

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