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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. net — after costs
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. kid — to tease
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. kid — child
  9. bound — tied together
  10. plane — a tool
  11. bound — certain
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. bound — obliged
  18. hand — in cards
  19. rule — a law
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. net — for catching
  23. net — in sport
  24. hand — help

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