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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. cold — an illness
  3. staff — employees
  4. key — for a lock
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. prune — to trim
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. season — of the year
  10. last — final
  11. key — in music
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. last — to go on
  14. cold — not warm
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. wake — a trail
  18. staff — employees
  19. prune — to trim
  20. last — finally
  21. staff — a stick
  22. season — in sport
  23. rule — a law
  24. key — the most important part

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