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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. stem — to come from
  3. content — happy
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. shower — rain
  6. content — the amount
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. press — a publisher
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. bound — tied together
  12. club — for dancing
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. press — to push
  16. bound — obliged
  17. bound — certain
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. club — a group
  21. rule — a law
  22. shower — to wash
  23. press — newspapers
  24. club — for golf

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