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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. kick — in football
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. rash — a series
  5. net — for catching
  6. ground — crushed
  7. march — the month
  8. rule — a law
  9. ground — a position
  10. fall — to drop
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. march — music
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. rash — hasty
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — the season
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. net — in sport
  19. net — after costs
  20. kid — to tease
  21. march — the month
  22. kid — child
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. ground — the earth

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