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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. key — for a lock
  3. rule — a law
  4. object — an aim
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. kid — child
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. kid — to tease
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. key — in music
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. rule — government
  13. board — to get on
  14. object — a thing
  15. object — to protest
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. board — a committee
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. land — to come down
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. key — the most important part
  22. land — a country
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. trunk — of a tree

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