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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 116 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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. last — to go on
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. mug — a cup
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. swing — to play on
  8. rule — a law
  9. mug — to rob
  10. degree — an amount
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. last — finally
  13. mark — a grade
  14. last — final
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. wax — to grow
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. mug — a face
  20. degree — from a university
  21. swing — music
  22. degree — temperature
  23. mark — a trace
  24. swing — in golf

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