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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mine — for digging
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. rule — government
  13. bat — the animal
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. game — a match
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. game — wild animals
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — a break

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