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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 120 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 · fork · wake · stick · rule · march · bore · arm

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. march — the month
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. wake — a trail
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. bore — to tire
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. bore — to drill
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. march — music
  15. chair — a leader
  16. rule — government
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. rule — a law
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. fork — in a road
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. march — the month
  24. rule — to rule out

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