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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. rule — government
  3. drill — army training
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. drill — a practice
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. ball — a dance
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. stock — goods
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. hand — in cards
  13. date — the fruit
  14. rule — a law
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. stock — shares
  17. hand — help
  18. drill — the 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