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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. last — to go on
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. fine — all right
  12. stem — to come from
  13. sharp — clever
  14. rule — a law
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. fine — high quality
  17. last — finally
  18. last — final

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