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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: rule · tear · land · last · deal · fork · patient · rock

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  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. rock — music
  2. rule — a law
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. land — a country
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — from crying
  7. last — finally
  8. land — to come down
  9. fork — in a road
  10. rock — a stone
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. deal — to handle
  16. last — final
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. tear — to rip
  19. land — ground
  20. last — to go on
  21. rule — government
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  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