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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. snap — to click
  10. mine — for digging
  11. stem — to come from
  12. rule — a law
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. wax — to grow
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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