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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. land — a country
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. wax — to grow
  7. land — ground
  8. rule — a law
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. pop — soda
  11. rash — a series
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chair — a leader
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. land — to come down
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. pop — to visit
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. rash — hasty
  20. pop — music
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. rule — government
  24. fork — in a road

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