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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: rule · pitcher · ball · bat · fork · race · prune · board

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. prune — to trim
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. ball — a great time
  7. ball — a dance
  8. prune — to trim
  9. rule — a law
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. rule — government
  13. fork — in a road
  14. race — humankind
  15. board — to get on
  16. bat — the animal
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. board — a committee
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. race — the arms race
  23. race — a contest
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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