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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. shower — rain
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. rule — a law
  6. land — a country
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. cap — a lid
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. shower — to wash
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. cap — of ice
  13. pop — to visit
  14. chest — a box
  15. pop — soda
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. pop — music
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — of your body
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. cap — a hat
  22. land — ground
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. land — to come down

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