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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. net — after costs
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. rule — a law
  5. rule — government
  6. present — there
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. land — ground
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. rush — hurry
  14. net — for catching
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. mine — for digging
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. present — a gift
  19. present — the time now
  20. net — in sport
  21. land — a country
  22. land — to come down
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. pass — a permit

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