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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. mug — a face
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. ground — crushed
  6. cold — an illness
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. cap — of ice
  10. ground — a position
  11. ground — the earth
  12. cap — a lid
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mug — to rob
  16. stem — to come from
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cap — a hat
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. mug — a cup
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. rule — a law
  24. mine — an explosive

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