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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — final
  4. rule — a law
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. rule — government
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. capital — money
  10. bass — the fish
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bass — low music
  13. file — a line of people
  14. file — a tool
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. file — a document
  17. wind — moving air
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. capital — a city
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. bore — to drill
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. bore — to tire

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