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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. wound — an injury
  3. stem — to come from
  4. rule — government
  5. scale — in music
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. band — a ring
  9. mate — a partner
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. last — to go on
  14. rule — a law
  15. last — final
  16. mate — to breed
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. wound — an injury
  19. band — a music group
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. last — finally
  22. sharp — clever
  23. mate — a friend
  24. rule — to rule out

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