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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: foot · patient · rule · fork · kid · fan · date · spring

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. spring — a coil
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. rule — a law
  5. kid — to tease
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. spring — of water
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. kid — child
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. fork — in a road
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. date — the fruit
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. foot — a measure
  22. spring — the season
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. fan — a supporter

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