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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. spell — letters
  3. last — to go on
  4. spell — magic
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. rule — a law
  7. march — the month
  8. current — happening now
  9. fine — high quality
  10. spell — a short time
  11. last — finally
  12. current — of water
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. fine — all right
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. pit — a hole
  17. rule — government
  18. current — electric
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. march — music
  21. pit — in a race
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. last — final
  24. march — the month

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