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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. rule — a law
  3. chest — a box
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. fork — in a road
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. ground — a position
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. ground — crushed
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. chest — of your body
  13. land — ground
  14. wake — a trail
  15. plane — a tool
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. land — to come down
  20. ground — the earth
  21. rule — government
  22. chest — of your body
  23. pass — a permit
  24. pass — to succeed

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