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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. pop — to visit
  3. can — a tin
  4. swing — to play on
  5. charge — electricity
  6. land — ground
  7. rule — a law
  8. swing — in golf
  9. pop — music
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. swing — music
  12. can — a tin
  13. land — to come down
  14. can — to be able to
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. charge — a price
  17. file — a line of people
  18. charge — in control
  19. rule — government
  20. file — a tool
  21. pop — soda
  22. file — a document
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. land — a country

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