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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. rule — government
  8. file — a line of people
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. rule — a law
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. file — a document
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. drill — a practice
  17. wound — an injury
  18. date — the fruit
  19. file — a tool
  20. wound — an injury
  21. drill — army training
  22. game — wild animals
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. drill — the tool

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