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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: fork · rule · race · club · date · snap · mug · cold

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. mug — to rob
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. race — the arms race
  6. fork — in a road
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. club — a group
  9. cold — not warm
  10. mug — a cup
  11. race — humankind
  12. rule — government
  13. cold — an illness
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. club — for golf
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. mug — a face
  21. race — a contest
  22. snap — to click
  23. club — for dancing
  24. date — the fruit

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