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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. key — the most important part
  3. land — ground
  4. rule — government
  5. key — for a lock
  6. row — a line
  7. chest — a box
  8. rule — a law
  9. key — in music
  10. charge — a price
  11. land — a country
  12. chest — of your body
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — the season
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. row — to paddle
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. charge — in control
  21. charge — electricity
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. land — to come down
  24. prune — to trim

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