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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. wind — moving air
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. mark — a grade
  5. land — ground
  6. court — for sport
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. rule — a law
  9. court — of law
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. hand — help
  13. land — a country
  14. pitch — completely
  15. hand — in cards
  16. land — to come down
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. wind — moving air
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. mark — a trace
  21. band — a music group
  22. band — a ring
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. court — of a king

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