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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: cell · stand · bore · wound · hand · fork · swing · rule

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. swing — to play on
  3. hand — in cards
  4. bore — to tire
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. fork — in a road
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. rule — a law
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. cell — a phone
  14. hand — help
  15. wound — an injury
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. stand — to bear
  18. bore — to drill
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. swing — in golf
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. cell — in biology
  23. rule — government
  24. wound — an injury

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