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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. firm — decided
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. rule — a law
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. drill — a practice
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. firm — a company
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. mine — for digging
  12. hand — help
  13. cap — a hat
  14. firm — steady
  15. wind — moving air
  16. drill — the tool
  17. wind — moving air
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. plane — a tool
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. drill — army training
  22. hand — in cards
  23. cap — of ice
  24. cap — a lid

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