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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. sharp — clever
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. rule — government
  6. mate — a partner
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. row — a line
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. mate — a friend
  13. last — finally
  14. row — to paddle
  15. last — to go on
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — the fruit
  19. land — ground
  20. mate — to breed
  21. rule — a law
  22. land — to come down
  23. wake — a trail
  24. last — final

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