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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. rush — hurry
  3. last — final
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. fork — in a road
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. last — to go on
  11. march — the month
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. march — music
  14. cell — in biology
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. rule — a law
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. rule — government
  20. last — finally
  21. foot — a measure
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. vault — a safe
  24. march — the month

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