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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. pound — a weight
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. mine — for digging
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. tube — the underground
  10. chip — for betting
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. kick — in football
  13. chip — to eat
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. tube — a container
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. rule — a law
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. rule — to rule out

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