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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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Word bank
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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. rest — what's left
  4. snap — to click
  5. row — a line
  6. rule — a law
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. pit — in a race
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. row — to paddle
  11. rest — a break
  12. pit — a hole
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. game — wild animals
  15. game — a match
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. row — a quarrel

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