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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: cell · straw · march · date · chair · rule · ground · spell

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. rule — government
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. rule — a law
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. march — the month
  7. spell — a short time
  8. spell — letters
  9. cell — in biology
  10. date — the fruit
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. cell — a phone
  14. march — music
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. ground — crushed
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. chair — a leader
  19. ground — a position
  20. march — the month
  21. spell — magic
  22. ground — the earth
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. straw — dry grass

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