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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 116 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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. mate — a friend
  3. present — the time now
  4. row — a line
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. tear — from crying
  9. land — a country
  10. rule — government
  11. rule — a law
  12. present — there
  13. present — a gift
  14. mate — a partner
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. mate — to breed
  21. row — to paddle
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. stem — to come from
  24. land — to come down

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