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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. rest — a break
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — final
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. rash — a series
  8. stock — goods
  9. rash — hasty
  10. march — music
  11. stock — shares
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. last — finally
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. land — a country
  16. land — to come down
  17. land — ground
  18. rule — government
  19. rule — a law
  20. rest — what's left
  21. march — the month
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. rest — what's left
  24. march — the month

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