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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. fine — all right
  3. last — finally
  4. rule — a law
  5. board — to get on
  6. stock — goods
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. spring — a coil
  9. rule — government
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. snap — to click
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. fine — high quality
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. spring — of water
  17. cell — a phone
  18. spring — the season
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. last — final
  21. last — to go on
  22. cell — in biology
  23. board — a committee
  24. 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