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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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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: rule · sharp · content · club · fork · plane · swing · season

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. swing — in golf
  3. swing — to play on
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. rule — government
  6. content — happy
  7. content — the amount
  8. season — in sport
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. sharp — clever
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. club — a group
  15. swing — music
  16. club — for dancing
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. season — of the year
  19. fork — in a road
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. club — for golf
  22. rule — a law
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. plane — a tool

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