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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. mine — for digging
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. last — to go on
  7. craft — a skill
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. hand — help
  10. rule — a law
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. mate — a partner
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. last — finally
  17. craft — boats
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. hand — in cards
  21. mate — a friend
  22. last — final
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. straw — dry grass

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