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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. race — the arms race
  3. row — to paddle
  4. bat — the animal
  5. race — humankind
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. march — the month
  8. rule — a law
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. game — a match
  11. present — a gift
  12. deal — to handle
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. race — a contest
  15. present — the time now
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. row — a line
  18. present — there
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. march — the month
  22. game — wild animals
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. march — music

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