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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. land — to come down
  3. rule — government
  4. file — a line of people
  5. file — a tool
  6. land — a country
  7. cell — a phone
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. land — ground
  12. dip — to sink
  13. craft — boats
  14. rule — a law
  15. season — of the year
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. craft — a skill
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. kid — child
  20. season — in sport
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. kid — to tease
  23. cell — in biology
  24. file — a document

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