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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 120 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: file · cell · stock · drill · snap · rule · spell · arm

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. snap — to click
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. file — a line of people
  5. spell — a short time
  6. stock — shares
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. cell — in biology
  9. cell — a phone
  10. file — a document
  11. drill — a practice
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. rule — government
  14. rule — a law
  15. drill — the tool
  16. spell — magic
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. drill — army training
  21. stock — goods
  22. file — a tool
  23. spell — letters
  24. stock — a soup base

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