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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. pop — to visit
  3. land — to come down
  4. press — to push
  5. land — ground
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. land — a country
  8. bound — certain
  9. bound — tied together
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. press — newspapers
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. bound — obliged
  15. pop — soda
  16. branch — a division
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. rule — a law
  20. press — a publisher
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. pop — music
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mine — for digging

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