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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 116 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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. march — the month
  3. march — music
  4. row — a line
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. march — the month
  7. hand — in cards
  8. file — a line of people
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. present — a gift
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. rule — government
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. row — to paddle
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. present — there
  20. hand — help
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. file — a tool
  23. present — the time now
  24. file — a document

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