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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. season — of the year
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. board — a committee
  6. march — music
  7. rule — a law
  8. board — to get on
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. season — in sport
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. last — final
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — finally
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. board — a flat piece

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