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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. rule — government
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. shower — rain
  5. can — to be able to
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. court — of a king
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. court — for sport
  12. rule — a law
  13. can — a tin
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. last — to go on
  16. deal — to handle
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. court — of law
  19. can — a tin
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. last — finally
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. shower — to wash

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