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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. last — final
  3. rule — government
  4. drill — army training
  5. last — to go on
  6. row — to paddle
  7. last — finally
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. march — the month
  10. march — the month
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. march — music
  15. row — a line
  16. drill — the tool
  17. vault — a safe
  18. date — the fruit
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. drill — a practice
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. pitch — completely
  24. rule — a law

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