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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. last — final
  3. squash — to crush
  4. march — the month
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — a line
  7. land — ground
  8. land — to come down
  9. stem — to come from
  10. row — to paddle
  11. roll — a cake
  12. rule — government
  13. squash — the sport
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. rule — a law
  17. land — a country
  18. march — music
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. march — the month
  22. last — to go on
  23. last — finally
  24. roll — a list

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