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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. rule — government
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. rock — music
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. fall — the season
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. game — a match
  10. root — the cause
  11. present — a gift
  12. hand — in cards
  13. root — of a word
  14. fall — to drop
  15. rock — a stone
  16. game — wild animals
  17. present — there
  18. branch — a division
  19. present — the time now
  20. fall — to drop
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. root — of a plant
  23. hand — help
  24. rule — a law

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