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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. chest — a box
  3. chest — of your body
  4. rule — government
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. court — of law
  7. wound — an injury
  8. drill — a practice
  9. rule — a law
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. court — for sport
  13. wound — an injury
  14. drill — army training
  15. land — ground
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. land — to come down
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. land — a country
  21. rash — a series
  22. drill — the tool
  23. court — of a king
  24. chest — of your body

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