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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. can — a tin
  3. chest — of your body
  4. march — the month
  5. date — the fruit
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. chest — a box
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. pop — to visit
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. foot — a measure
  12. pop — soda
  13. can — to be able to
  14. rule — a law
  15. pop — music
  16. march — the month
  17. chest — of your body
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. can — a tin
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. march — music
  24. date — on the calendar

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