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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 120 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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. rule — government
  3. spring — the season
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. chip — to eat
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — of water
  12. chip — for betting
  13. field — a subject
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. pop — to visit
  16. field — farmland
  17. last — to go on
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. last — finally
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. pop — soda
  22. pop — music
  23. last — final
  24. field — for sport

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