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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. band — a ring
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. spell — letters
  5. mate — a friend
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. game — a match
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. spell — magic
  12. mate — a partner
  13. band — a music group
  14. game — wild animals
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. scale — in music
  18. rule — a law
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. mate — to breed
  21. spell — a short time
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. scale — size or range

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