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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. court — of a king
  3. rash — hasty
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — to tease
  10. stand — to bear
  11. rule — a law
  12. court — for sport
  13. court — of law
  14. rash — a series
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. cold — not warm
  17. stem — to come from
  18. bore — to tire
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. bore — to drill
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. cold — an illness
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. cold — the Cold War

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