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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. bass — low music
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. land — a country
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. mark — a grade
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. bass — the fish
  15. rule — a law
  16. land — ground
  17. land — to come down
  18. bat — the animal
  19. branch — a division
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. mark — a trace
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. branch — of a tree

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