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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. last — final
  3. pop — music
  4. last — to go on
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. hand — help
  8. hand — in cards
  9. land — a country
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. pop — to visit
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. fork — in a road
  15. board — to get on
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. last — finally
  18. pop — soda
  19. rule — government
  20. rule — a law
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. board — a committee
  24. land — to come down

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