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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: fork · net · pitcher · rule · mark · pop · bound · cold

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. rule — a law
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. net — after costs
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bound — certain
  8. pop — music
  9. net — in sport
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. mark — a trace
  12. bound — tied together
  13. net — for catching
  14. pop — to visit
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. rule — government
  17. mark — a grade
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. bound — obliged
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. cold — an illness
  24. fork — in a road

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