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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. staff — employees
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. content — happy
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. land — to come down
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. net — in sport
  13. bat — the animal
  14. rule — a law
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. staff — a stick
  17. net — after costs
  18. content — the amount
  19. land — ground
  20. land — a country
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. net — for catching
  23. staff — employees
  24. trunk — of a tree

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