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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. lean — to bend
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. rule — government
  6. stock — goods
  7. current — happening now
  8. rule — a law
  9. current — of water
  10. bore — to tire
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. spring — of water
  13. stock — shares
  14. bore — to drill
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. fine — high quality
  17. spring — a coil
  18. land — to come down
  19. land — ground
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. lean — thin
  22. current — electric
  23. spring — the season
  24. land — a country

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