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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. bound — certain
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. last — to go on
  7. ball — a dance
  8. last — final
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. bound — tied together
  11. scale — in music
  12. rule — government
  13. cap — of ice
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. bound — obliged
  16. rule — a law
  17. last — finally
  18. cap — a lid
  19. land — ground
  20. ball — a great time
  21. land — to come down
  22. land — a country
  23. wake — a trail
  24. cap — a hat

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