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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: kick · fork · land · bound · chair · rule · wake · lean

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. bound — certain
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. lean — to bend
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. rule — a law
  10. chair — a leader
  11. fork — in a road
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. bound — tied together
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. bound — obliged
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. land — a country
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. rule — government
  21. land — to come down
  22. wake — a trail
  23. lean — thin
  24. kick — in football

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