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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 120 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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. mark — a grade
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. last — to go on
  6. rule — government
  7. rule — a law
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. mark — a trace
  11. last — final
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. file — a tool
  15. deal — to handle
  16. file — a line of people
  17. last — finally
  18. fan — to cool the air

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