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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: file · cabinet · rule · scale · court · lie · last · land

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. court — for sport
  5. rule — government
  6. land — to come down
  7. file — a document
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. lie — to recline
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. rule — a law
  13. court — of a king
  14. last — finally
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. file — a line of people
  17. land — ground
  18. file — a tool
  19. court — of law
  20. scale — size or range
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. last — to go on
  23. scale — in music
  24. land — a country

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