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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. rule — government
  3. last — final
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a document
  6. rule — a law
  7. key — the most important part
  8. key — for a lock
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. last — to go on
  15. stock — shares
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. tube — a container
  18. file — a line of people
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. stock — goods
  22. tube — the underground
  23. last — finally
  24. tube — in a tire

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