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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. mate — a friend
  3. fall — to drop
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. land — a country
  7. fall — to drop
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. fall — the season
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. wind — moving air
  13. fine — all right
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. land — to come down
  16. wind — moving air
  17. mate — a partner
  18. mate — to breed
  19. band — a ring
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. rule — a law
  22. land — ground
  23. fine — high quality
  24. band — a music group

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