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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 116 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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. rule — government
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. fine — high quality
  7. wind — moving air
  8. scale — size or range
  9. rash — hasty
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. tube — the underground
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. ground — the earth
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mine — for digging
  16. ground — crushed
  17. scale — in music
  18. tube — a container
  19. ground — a position
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. rule — a law
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. rash — a series

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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