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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — finally
  3. content — happy
  4. file — a document
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. kick — in football
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. content — the amount
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. file — a line of people
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. deal — to handle
  13. shower — to wash
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. shower — rain
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. rule — a law
  21. last — final
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. rule — government
  24. file — a tool

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