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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · rule · bore · cold · march · land · track · staff

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. bore — to tire
  3. cold — not warm
  4. land — a country
  5. fork — in a road
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. track — a song
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. rule — government
  10. march — the month
  11. staff — a stick
  12. cold — an illness
  13. staff — employees
  14. bore — to drill
  15. track — a path
  16. march — music
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. staff — employees
  19. rule — a law
  20. land — to come down
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. track — to keep track
  23. march — the month
  24. fork — a garden tool

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