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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: march · last · rule · firm · spring · ruler · cold · wake

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. last — to go on
  3. cold — not warm
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. last — final
  6. rule — a law
  7. firm — steady
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. spring — the season
  10. rule — government
  11. march — the month
  12. wake — a trail
  13. cold — an illness
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. spring — of water
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. spring — a coil
  18. last — finally
  19. march — music
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. march — the month
  24. firm — a company

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