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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. vault — a safe
  3. last — final
  4. file — a document
  5. race — the arms race
  6. chip — to eat
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. row — a line
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. rule — government
  12. chip — for betting
  13. race — humankind
  14. sharp — clever
  15. rule — a law
  16. last — finally
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. race — a contest
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. last — to go on
  22. row — to paddle
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a tool

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