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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. land — a country
  4. rule — government
  5. rule — a law
  6. firm — decided
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. saw — the tool
  10. band — a ring
  11. date — the fruit
  12. firm — steady
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. saw — the tool
  16. band — a music group
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. bat — the animal
  19. land — to come down
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. firm — a company
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. land — ground

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