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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. track — to keep track
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. spell — magic
  7. rule — a law
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. cell — in biology
  10. pit — in a race
  11. spell — letters
  12. rock — a stone
  13. cell — a phone
  14. track — a song
  15. pit — a hole
  16. spell — a short time
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. track — a path
  20. kid — child
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. rule — government
  24. ruler — for measuring

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