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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. row — a line
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. row — to paddle
  7. current — of water
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. clip — to cut
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. stem — to come from
  12. current — happening now
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. plane — a tool
  15. rule — a law
  16. clip — a video
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. clip — for paper
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a document
  22. current — electric
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. file — a line of people

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