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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. last — final
  4. rule — government
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. last — finally
  7. fine — high quality
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. toast — bread
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. content — happy
  16. content — the amount
  17. rule — a law
  18. sharp — clever
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a document
  22. fine — all right
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. last — to go on

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