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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. chip — to eat
  5. degree — an amount
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. rule — a law
  9. chest — of your body
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. chip — for betting
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. club — for golf
  15. kid — to tease
  16. wax — to grow
  17. club — a group
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. kid — child
  20. chest — a box
  21. degree — temperature
  22. club — for dancing
  23. degree — from a university
  24. chest — of your body

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