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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. present — a gift
  3. spell — letters
  4. rule — government
  5. file — a document
  6. charge — electricity
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. fall — to drop
  9. spell — a short time
  10. charge — a price
  11. charge — in control
  12. ground — the earth
  13. present — there
  14. ground — crushed
  15. ground — a position
  16. file — a tool
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — the fruit
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. fall — to drop
  21. rule — a law
  22. spell — magic
  23. file — a line of people
  24. fall — the season

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