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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. rule — a law
  3. land — to come down
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. spring — of water
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. land — a country
  8. land — ground
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. spring — a coil
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. kid — child
  13. stand — to bear
  14. spring — the season
  15. stock — shares
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. rule — government
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. stock — goods
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. bear — the animal

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