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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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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: cap · ruler · wind · bat · cold · fork · bass · rule

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. rule — a law
  3. rule — government
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. fork — in a road
  6. bass — low music
  7. cap — a hat
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cap — of ice
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bass — the fish
  13. wind — moving air
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. cold — an illness
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. cap — a lid
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. rule — to rule out

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