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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. mark — a trace
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. cap — a hat
  5. mark — a grade
  6. file — a tool
  7. cap — a lid
  8. march — the month
  9. last — finally
  10. cap — of ice
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. file — a line of people
  13. court — for sport
  14. march — the month
  15. march — music
  16. court — of law
  17. rule — a law
  18. last — final
  19. last — to go on
  20. file — a document
  21. rule — government
  22. hand — in cards
  23. court — of a king
  24. hand — help

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