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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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Word bank
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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 · date · file · land · straw · cell · bowl · coach

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  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. cell — in a prison
  2. land — ground
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. file — a document
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. rule — a law
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. land — a country
  15. file — a line of people
  16. cell — a phone
  17. rule — government
  18. date — the fruit
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. cell — in biology
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. land — to come down
  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