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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 116 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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. rule — a law
  5. rest — what's left
  6. stem — to come from
  7. mate — to breed
  8. rest — a break
  9. rest — what's left
  10. mine — for digging
  11. press — newspapers
  12. kid — to tease
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. press — to push
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. mate — a friend
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. kid — child
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. press — a publisher
  24. mate — a partner

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