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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 120 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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. rule — a law
  6. mine — for digging
  7. kid — child
  8. bound — certain
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bulb — for light
  11. kid — to tease
  12. bound — tied together
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. bulb — for light
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. bound — obliged
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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