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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: wound · board · fork · rule · tear · wind · key · charge

  1. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. rule — a law
  3. board — a committee
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wound — an injury
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. wind — moving air
  8. board — to get on
  9. tear — from crying
  10. charge — a price
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wind — moving air
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. wound — an injury
  16. key — the most important part
  17. rule — government
  18. tear — to rip
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. charge — electricity
  21. key — for a lock
  22. fork — in a road
  23. key — in music
  24. fork — to eat with

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