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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 116 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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. net — in sport
  3. file — a line of people
  4. march — the month
  5. pop — music
  6. march — the month
  7. game — wild animals
  8. net — after costs
  9. rule — a law
  10. file — a document
  11. game — a match
  12. rule — government
  13. march — music
  14. pop — to visit
  15. net — for catching
  16. pop — soda
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. file — a 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