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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. mine — for digging
  3. club — a group
  4. press — to push
  5. ground — crushed
  6. present — the time now
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. present — a gift
  9. club — for golf
  10. staff — employees
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. present — there
  14. staff — employees
  15. club — for dancing
  16. ground — a position
  17. shower — to wash
  18. ground — the earth
  19. press — a publisher
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. rule — a law
  22. press — newspapers
  23. staff — a stick
  24. rule — to rule out

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