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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. stem — to come from
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. land — ground
  6. key — for a lock
  7. rule — government
  8. file — a document
  9. firm — steady
  10. key — the most important part
  11. land — a country
  12. land — to come down
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. file — a line of people
  15. spell — a short time
  16. key — in music
  17. rule — a law
  18. spell — letters
  19. spell — magic
  20. wake — a trail
  21. firm — decided
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. file — a tool
  24. firm — a company

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