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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. staff — employees
  3. pop — to visit
  4. rule — government
  5. land — a country
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. snap — to click
  8. pop — music
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. land — to come down
  12. charge — a price
  13. pop — soda
  14. staff — a stick
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. land — ground
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. charge — electricity
  19. staff — employees
  20. charge — in control
  21. fork — in a road
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. rule — to rule out

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