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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: net · firm · last · mine · rule · club · mark · pop

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. firm — a company
  3. mine — for digging
  4. net — for catching
  5. pop — music
  6. mark — a trace
  7. firm — steady
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. last — finally
  10. rule — government
  11. mark — a grade
  12. last — to go on
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. club — for dancing
  15. rule — a law
  16. club — a group
  17. pop — to visit
  18. firm — decided
  19. pop — soda
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. net — after costs
  23. net — in sport
  24. club — for golf

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