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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. pit — a hole
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. last — finally
  5. cell — in biology
  6. stem — to come from
  7. march — the month
  8. last — to go on
  9. last — final
  10. mug — a face
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. band — a music group
  13. mug — to rob
  14. pit — in a race
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. cell — a phone
  17. rule — a law
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. rule — government
  20. march — the month
  21. band — a ring
  22. mug — a cup
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. march — 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