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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. chest — of your body
  4. mark — a grade
  5. wind — moving air
  6. sharp — clever
  7. spring — of water
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. rule — a law
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. chest — a box
  12. object — to protest
  13. spring — a coil
  14. object — a thing
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. chest — of your body
  21. mark — a trace
  22. spring — the season
  23. wind — moving air
  24. object — an aim

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