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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. last — finally
  3. last — to go on
  4. file — a line of people
  5. file — a tool
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. stock — shares
  9. bulb — for light
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. bulb — for light
  13. rule — government
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. rule — a law
  16. fine — high quality
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. row — to paddle
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. last — final
  21. file — a document
  22. stock — goods
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. row — a line

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