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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. rule — government
  6. rule — a law
  7. march — the month
  8. last — final
  9. file — a document
  10. file — a tool
  11. track — to keep track
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. last — finally
  14. last — to go on
  15. fine — all right
  16. track — a path
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. file — a line of people
  19. march — music
  20. fine — high quality
  21. march — the month
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. track — a song

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