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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: date · rule · face · shower · clip · fork · dip · bore

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. clip — to cut
  3. dip — to sink
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. face — to confront
  6. face — part of the head
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. rule — a law
  9. bore — to drill
  10. shower — to wash
  11. shower — rain
  12. clip — for paper
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. fork — in a road
  15. clip — a video
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. face — to point toward
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. bore — to tire
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. date — the fruit
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. fork — a garden tool

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