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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. present — the time now
  3. land — to come down
  4. chest — of your body
  5. rule — government
  6. mate — to breed
  7. land — ground
  8. mate — a friend
  9. present — a gift
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. chest — of your body
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. race — humankind
  14. land — a country
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. chest — a box
  17. rule — a law
  18. mate — a partner
  19. race — a contest
  20. present — there
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. race — the arms race
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. mouse — the animal

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