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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. bass — the fish
  4. date — the fruit
  5. lie — to recline
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. bore — to drill
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. rule — a law
  11. bass — low music
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cold — not warm
  22. branch — a division
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. bore — to tire

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