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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  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. rule — government
  2. net — after costs
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. net — in sport
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. ground — the earth
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. perch — the fish
  10. rule — a law
  11. bore — to drill
  12. ground — a position
  13. charge — a price
  14. net — for catching
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. bore — to tire
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. charge — in control
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. charge — electricity
  21. shower — rain
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. ground — crushed
  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