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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. land — ground
  3. fine — high quality
  4. land — a country
  5. clip — for paper
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. cue — a signal
  8. stock — goods
  9. stock — shares
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. clip — to cut
  13. land — to come down
  14. rule — a law
  15. kid — child
  16. cue — for pool
  17. kid — to tease
  18. rule — government
  19. cue — a hint
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. clip — a video
  23. fine — all right
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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