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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rule — a law
  3. chest — a box
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. court — of law
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. chest — of your body
  9. mine — for digging
  10. fork — in a road
  11. chest — of your body
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. court — for sport
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. rock — a stone
  16. wind — moving air
  17. court — of a king
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. rule — government
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. wind — moving air

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