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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. rule — government
  3. mine — for digging
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. cell — a phone
  6. land — to come down
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. rest — a break
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. season — of the year
  12. rule — a law
  13. rest — what's left
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. chair — a leader
  16. season — in sport
  17. cell — in biology
  18. land — ground
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. cell — in a prison

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