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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. rash — hasty
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. rule — a law
  6. face — to point toward
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. swing — in golf
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. chair — a leader
  15. rash — a series
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. swing — to play on
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. face — to confront
  20. fork — in a road
  21. face — part of the head
  22. swing — music
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. chair — a professorship

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