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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 124 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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. last — final
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — the season
  5. degree — temperature
  6. rule — a law
  7. tube — the underground
  8. degree — an amount
  9. wake — a trail
  10. last — finally
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. fine — high quality
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. tube — a container
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — the tool
  18. spring — a coil
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. rule — government
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. degree — from a university
  23. last — to go on
  24. rule — to rule out

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