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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. land — to come down
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. land — a country
  6. chest — of your body
  7. face — to confront
  8. rule — a law
  9. face — part of the head
  10. face — to point toward
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. object — a thing
  13. chest — a box
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. ball — a dance
  16. land — ground
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. ball — a great time
  19. toast — bread
  20. object — an aim
  21. chair — a leader
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. object — to protest
  24. chest — of your body

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