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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. net — in sport
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. net — after costs
  8. rest — what's left
  9. chip — to eat
  10. net — for catching
  11. game — a match
  12. rest — what's left
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. rule — a law
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. kid — to tease
  18. chip — for betting
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. kid — child
  21. rest — a break
  22. stem — to come from
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. bat — the animal

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