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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. rash — a series
  3. net — after costs
  4. rash — hasty
  5. land — a country
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. pass — a permit
  8. rule — a law
  9. net — for catching
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. race — the arms race
  12. land — to come down
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. race — a contest
  15. net — in sport
  16. race — humankind
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. land — ground
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. wound — an injury
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. pound — a weight

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