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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. rest — a break
  4. rest — what's left
  5. present — there
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. rule — government
  9. chip — to eat
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. rule — a law
  13. last — final
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. land — to come down
  16. capital — a city
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. last — to go on
  20. present — a gift
  21. chip — for betting
  22. last — finally
  23. land — a country
  24. present — the time now

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