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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. staff — employees
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. staff — employees
  5. chest — of your body
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. bank — for money
  8. band — a ring
  9. staff — a stick
  10. chair — a leader
  11. stock — shares
  12. bank — of a river
  13. stock — goods
  14. land — ground
  15. land — a country
  16. rule — a law
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. band — a music group
  19. chest — of your body
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. chest — a box
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. land — to come down
  24. bank — for money

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