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

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. stock — shares
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. land — to come down
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. stock — goods
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. land — a country
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. rule — a law
  13. chest — of your body
  14. land — ground
  15. chest — a box
  16. chest — of your body
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — to clutch at straws

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