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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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Word bank
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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: bulb · fork · nail · game · chip · club · lie · rule

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. bulb — for light
  5. club — for dancing
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. chip — to eat
  8. chip — for betting
  9. bulb — for light
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. club — for golf
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. game — a match
  15. club — a group
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. game — wild animals
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. lie — to recline
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. fork — in a road
  24. rule — a law

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