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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. tube — the underground
  3. rule — a law
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. mark — a grade
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. march — the month
  9. land — ground
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. clip — to cut
  13. stock — goods
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. clip — for paper
  16. tube — a container
  17. mark — a trace
  18. land — to come down
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. stock — shares
  21. march — music
  22. march — the month
  23. clip — a video
  24. land — a country

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