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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. face — part of the head
  3. club — a group
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. game — a match
  6. rule — a law
  7. fork — in a road
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. club — for dancing
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. face — to point toward
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. rush — hurry
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. club — for golf
  21. face — to confront
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. game — wild animals
  24. straw — a straw man

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