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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: march · shower · season · game · rule · rash · hide · file

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. game — a match
  3. file — a tool
  4. rule — a law
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. season — in sport
  7. rash — a series
  8. march — the month
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. shower — to wash
  13. march — music
  14. season — of the year
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. file — a line of people
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. march — the month
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. shower — rain
  22. game — wild animals
  23. rash — hasty
  24. file — a document

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