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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 · straw · rule · stick · racket · court · cold · bound

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. rule — government
  3. bound — tied together
  4. court — of law
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. court — for sport
  7. bound — certain
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. rule — a law
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. cold — an illness
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. cold — not warm
  20. court — of a king
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. bound — obliged
  24. straw — a straw man

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