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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. file — a line of people
  3. rule — a law
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. drill — army training
  8. land — ground
  9. land — a country
  10. cell — a phone
  11. rule — government
  12. cue — for pool
  13. cell — in biology
  14. file — a tool
  15. drill — a practice
  16. cue — a hint
  17. bat — the animal
  18. kick — in football
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. land — to come down
  21. cue — a signal
  22. drill — the tool
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. bat — in an idiom

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