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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. rule — a law
  3. ground — a position
  4. kick — in football
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. fall — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. rule — government
  11. rash — hasty
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. land — to come down
  15. fall — to drop
  16. rash — a series
  17. ground — the earth
  18. bound — obliged
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. bound — tied together
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. land — a country
  23. bound — certain
  24. ground — crushed

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