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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. fine — all right
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. current — electric
  6. game — a match
  7. fine — high quality
  8. row — a line
  9. cap — a lid
  10. rule — a law
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. file — a document
  13. current — of water
  14. cap — of ice
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. rule — government
  17. file — a tool
  18. cap — a hat
  19. row — to paddle
  20. sharp — clever
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. current — happening now
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. game — wild animals

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