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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. rule — a law
  3. file — a line of people
  4. rule — government
  5. track — to keep track
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. pop — music
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. file — a tool
  12. track — a path
  13. toast — bread
  14. race — humankind
  15. wake — a trail
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. pop — soda
  19. file — a document
  20. race — a contest
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. race — the arms race
  24. track — a song

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