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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. scale — in music
  3. march — the month
  4. file — a document
  5. mate — a partner
  6. march — the month
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. spell — a short time
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. file — a tool
  13. march — music
  14. spell — letters
  15. scale — size or range
  16. rule — government
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. file — a line of people
  19. press — to push
  20. press — a publisher
  21. press — newspapers
  22. mate — a friend
  23. mate — to breed
  24. spell — magic

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