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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 124 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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. march — the month
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. bass — low music
  6. bat — the animal
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. kid — child
  11. stand — to bear
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. march — the month
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. rule — a law
  18. march — music
  19. bass — the fish
  20. kid — to tease
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. temple — side of the head

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