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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. rule — government
  3. swing — music
  4. lie — to recline
  5. last — final
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. swing — to play on
  11. tube — a container
  12. hand — in cards
  13. rule — a law
  14. net — after costs
  15. net — for catching
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. hand — help
  18. last — to go on
  19. net — in sport
  20. swing — in golf
  21. last — finally
  22. tube — the underground
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. rule — to rule out

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