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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: foot · rule · current · rock · land · spring · wake · date

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. rule — government
  3. land — to come down
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. rock — music
  6. rock — a stone
  7. current — of water
  8. current — electric
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. spring — a coil
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. spring — of water
  15. date — the fruit
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. wake — a trail
  19. foot — a measure
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. land — a country
  22. spring — the season
  23. current — happening now
  24. rule — a law

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