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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 116 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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. rule — government
  3. file — a line of people
  4. rule — a law
  5. game — wild animals
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. row — to paddle
  11. drill — the tool
  12. file — a tool
  13. game — a match
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. drill — a practice
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. drill — army training
  18. file — a document
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. rash — hasty
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. row — a line

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