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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 116 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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. spring — a coil
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. rule — government
  5. charge — a price
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — to wash
  8. land — a country
  9. land — to come down
  10. band — a ring
  11. branch — a division
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. cell — in biology
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — the season
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. rule — a law
  19. charge — electricity
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. charge — in control
  23. band — a music group
  24. land — ground

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