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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. rule — a law
  7. land — to come down
  8. rash — hasty
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. rash — a series
  11. land — ground
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. snap — to click
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. rule — government
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. pitcher — a jug

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