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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. last — to go on
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. date — the fruit
  5. current — happening now
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. saw — the tool
  8. last — final
  9. spell — a short time
  10. spell — magic
  11. current — of water
  12. spell — letters
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. rule — a law
  15. rule — government
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. drill — a practice
  19. stock — shares
  20. drill — the tool
  21. drill — army training
  22. current — electric
  23. saw — the tool
  24. last — finally

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