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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: key · board · hide · court · cell · rule · last · file

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. key — the most important part
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. file — a line of people
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. board — to get on
  8. key — in music
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — of law
  11. court — for sport
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. last — final
  14. last — to go on
  15. cell — a phone
  16. board — a committee
  17. cell — in biology
  18. key — for a lock
  19. file — a tool
  20. last — finally
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. file — a document
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. rule — government

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