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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. bulb — for light
  3. land — to come down
  4. club — for dancing
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. club — for golf
  7. club — a group
  8. rule — government
  9. chest — of your body
  10. squash — the sport
  11. land — a country
  12. court — of law
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. court — for sport
  16. chest — a box
  17. squash — to crush
  18. court — of a king
  19. land — ground
  20. tear — to rip
  21. tear — from crying
  22. bulb — for light
  23. tear — from crying
  24. chest — of your body

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