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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.

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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: ruler · file · face · rule · stock · calf · mate · squash

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. rule — government
  3. mate — a partner
  4. face — to confront
  5. squash — to crush
  6. face — part of the head
  7. stock — goods
  8. file — a document
  9. mate — a friend
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. face — to point toward
  12. squash — the sport
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. stock — shares
  15. mate — to breed
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. file — a tool
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. rule — a law
  23. file — a line of people
  24. calf — a young animal

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