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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. game — wild animals
  3. race — humankind
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. club — for golf
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. club — a group
  9. race — the arms race
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. stem — to come from
  14. bound — certain
  15. rule — a law
  16. pass — a permit
  17. bound — obliged
  18. game — a match
  19. race — a contest
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. club — for dancing
  22. season — of the year
  23. season — in sport
  24. bound — tied together

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