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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: net · rule · mark · land · fork · pitcher · date · fan

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. rule — a law
  6. net — after costs
  7. date — the fruit
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. mark — a grade
  10. net — for catching
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. land — to come down
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. fork — in a road
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. net — in sport
  21. land — a country
  22. land — ground
  23. mark — a trace
  24. pitcher — a jug

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