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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: swing · tube · bound · row · hide · rule · capital · fork

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. row — to paddle
  3. rule — government
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. bound — tied together
  6. bound — certain
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. swing — music
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. tube — a container
  15. capital — a city
  16. row — a line
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. bound — obliged
  19. tube — the underground
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. rule — a law
  22. swing — in golf
  23. fork — in a road
  24. capital — money

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