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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: fork · chair · rock · tube · row · rule · land · arm

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. row — to paddle
  4. fork — in a road
  5. chair — a leader
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. rule — a law
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. rule — government
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. land — a country
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. row — a line
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rock — a stone
  17. rock — music
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. land — to come down
  20. tube — a container
  21. land — ground
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. fork — to eat with

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