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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. rule — government
  3. mine — for digging
  4. fork — in a road
  5. land — ground
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. land — to come down
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. land — a country
  10. hand — help
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. ground — the earth
  17. lean — to bend
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. rule — a law
  20. ground — crushed
  21. hand — in cards
  22. lean — thin
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. ground — a position

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