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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rule · deal · last · file · lie · wind

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. file — a tool
  3. last — final
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. rule — government
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. file — a document
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. deal — to handle
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — finally
  16. lie — to recline
  17. rule — a law
  18. file — a line of people

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