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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 120 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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — final
  4. pop — to visit
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. land — ground
  7. vault — a safe
  8. spell — magic
  9. rule — a law
  10. pop — soda
  11. last — finally
  12. pop — music
  13. land — to come down
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. plane — a tool
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. land — a country
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. spell — letters
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. spell — a short time

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