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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. lean — thin
  3. row — a line
  4. file — a line of people
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. race — humankind
  7. lean — to bend
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. deal — to handle
  12. rule — a law
  13. file — a document
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. race — a contest
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. race — the arms race
  18. row — to paddle
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. prune — to trim
  21. file — a tool
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. prune — to trim
  24. row — a quarrel

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