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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 120 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. bat — the animal
  4. cue — for pool
  5. root — the cause
  6. game — a match
  7. cue — a signal
  8. tear — from crying
  9. rule — a law
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. game — wild animals
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. row — a line
  14. root — of a plant
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. cue — a hint
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. root — of a word
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. row — to paddle

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