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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — finally
  3. mate — to breed
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. ground — a position
  7. mate — a friend
  8. ground — crushed
  9. mate — a partner
  10. bound — obliged
  11. rule — a law
  12. row — a line
  13. last — to go on
  14. ground — the earth
  15. rule — government
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. bound — tied together
  18. stem — to come from
  19. bound — certain
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. row — to paddle
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stem — of a plant

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