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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. bore — to tire
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. stem — to come from
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. pitch — completely
  14. cell — in biology
  15. drill — army training
  16. bat — the animal
  17. drill — a practice
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. drill — the tool
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. rule — a law
  23. bore — to drill
  24. cell — a phone

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