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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. fine — high quality
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. march — music
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. last — to go on
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. game — wild animals
  10. march — the month
  11. game — a match
  12. file — a tool
  13. file — a document
  14. last — finally
  15. fall — the season
  16. march — the month
  17. cell — a phone
  18. fine — all right
  19. date — the fruit
  20. last — final
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. fall — to drop
  23. file — a line of people
  24. fall — to drop

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