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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. rule — government
  3. mate — a friend
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. land — to come down
  6. bulb — for light
  7. chair — a leader
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. rule — a law
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. land — a country
  12. snap — to click
  13. saw — the tool
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. mate — to breed
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. saw — the tool
  18. bulb — for light
  19. net — in sport
  20. land — ground
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. net — after costs
  23. mate — a partner
  24. net — for catching

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