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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 116 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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  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. rash — on the skin
  2. game — wild animals
  3. land — to come down
  4. rule — government
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. game — a match
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. cold — an illness
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. cold — not warm
  13. rash — hasty
  14. saw — the tool
  15. rule — a law
  16. saw — the tool
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. deal — to handle
  19. pound — a weight
  20. land — a country
  21. land — ground
  22. rash — a series
  23. deal — a big deal
  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