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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. mine — for digging
  3. hand — help
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. staff — employees
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. rule — government
  11. land — ground
  12. bulb — for light
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. kid — to tease
  16. rule — a law
  17. staff — employees
  18. bulb — for light
  19. land — to come down
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. land — a country
  23. hand — in cards
  24. bulb — of a plant

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