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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: track · band · bear · fork · fan · row · capital · rule

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. fork — in a road
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. track — a song
  5. bear — the animal
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. band — a music group
  8. track — a path
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. row — to paddle
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. track — to keep track
  14. row — a line
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. rule — a law
  19. capital — money
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. bear — the animal
  23. band — a ring
  24. capital — a city

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