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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: craft · date · file · rule · bowl · snap

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. craft — a skill
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. file — a line of people
  6. craft — boats
  7. file — a tool
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. rule — a law
  12. date — the fruit
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. file — a document
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. date — on the calendar

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