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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: rest · stick · land · file · last · rule · cabinet · mate

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. rest — what's left
  3. mate — a partner
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. last — final
  6. land — ground
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. file — a tool
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. rule — a law
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. land — to come down
  13. rest — what's left
  14. file — a document
  15. rule — government
  16. last — finally
  17. mate — a friend
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. file — a line of people
  20. rest — a break
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. last — to go on
  23. mate — to breed
  24. land — a country

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