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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. land — a country
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. rule — a law
  5. row — a line
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. row — to paddle
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. race — the arms race
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. race — humankind
  18. rule — government
  19. mine — for digging
  20. land — ground
  21. land — to come down
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. race — a contest
  24. pitcher — a jug

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