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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. rule — government
  3. key — for a lock
  4. cell — in biology
  5. key — in music
  6. last — finally
  7. last — to go on
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. rock — a stone
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. roll — a cake
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. rule — a law
  14. cell — a phone
  15. roll — a list
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. key — the most important part
  18. rock — music

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