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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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. ground — a position
  3. last — final
  4. ground — the earth
  5. rock — music
  6. land — ground
  7. bass — low music
  8. mine — for digging
  9. land — to come down
  10. ground — crushed
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. land — a country
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. rock — a stone
  16. rule — a law
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bass — the fish
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — finally
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. bark — to shout

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