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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. pop — music
  5. row — a line
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. pop — to visit
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. pop — soda
  10. ground — the earth
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. rule — a law
  13. season — in sport
  14. row — to paddle
  15. ground — crushed
  16. hand — help
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. ground — a position
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. hand — in cards
  24. season — of the year

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