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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. file — a tool
  4. land — ground
  5. file — a document
  6. rule — government
  7. pit — a hole
  8. rule — a law
  9. wound — an injury
  10. pit — in a race
  11. track — to keep track
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. land — a country
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. track — a song
  18. snap — to click
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. track — a path
  21. wound — an injury
  22. file — a line of people
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. jam — in traffic

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