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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. rule — government
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. craft — boats
  7. bass — low music
  8. last — final
  9. race — a contest
  10. race — the arms race
  11. game — a match
  12. wake — a trail
  13. last — to go on
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. craft — a skill
  16. race — humankind
  17. bass — the fish
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. kick — in football
  23. game — wild animals
  24. rule — a law

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