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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. land — a country
  3. drill — a practice
  4. rule — government
  5. kid — child
  6. shower — rain
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. kid — to tease
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. rash — hasty
  11. shower — to wash
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. drill — the tool
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. drill — army training
  16. land — ground
  17. rash — a series
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. squash — to crush
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. rule — a law
  24. squash — the sport

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