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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: march · land · date · rule · wave · bound · mouse · roll

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. bound — obliged
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. rule — government
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. rule — a law
  9. roll — a list
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. bound — tied together
  12. land — a country
  13. date — the fruit
  14. bound — certain
  15. land — ground
  16. roll — a cake
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. march — the month
  19. march — the month
  20. march — music
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. land — to come down
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. roll — on a roll

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