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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: clip · court · fork · rash · rule · drill · wake · pitcher

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. court — of law
  3. rash — a series
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. clip — a video
  6. court — for sport
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. drill — army training
  9. drill — a practice
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. wake — a trail
  13. rule — government
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. drill — the tool
  16. clip — for paper
  17. fork — in a road
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. court — of a king
  20. rash — hasty
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. clip — to cut
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. rash — on the skin

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