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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 120 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: land · wind · firm · rule · wave · cell

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. wind — moving air
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. rule — government
  6. cell — a phone
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. land — ground
  9. rule — a law
  10. firm — a company
  11. firm — steady
  12. land — a country
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. land — to come down
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. cell — in biology
  18. wave — of the sea

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