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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. last — finally
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. land — to come down
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. last — final
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — a match
  11. rule — government
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. game — wild animals
  16. land — ground
  17. last — to go on
  18. rule — a law

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