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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. hand — help
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. land — to come down
  5. march — the month
  6. firm — a company
  7. land — ground
  8. cap — a hat
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. march — the month
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. land — a country
  13. drill — the tool
  14. cap — a lid
  15. march — music
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. drill — a practice
  18. hand — in cards
  19. cap — of ice
  20. rule — government
  21. firm — steady
  22. drill — army training
  23. rule — a law
  24. hand — part of the body

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