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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. rule — government
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. stock — shares
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. stock — goods
  7. wake — a trail
  8. row — a line
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. mine — for digging
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. ground — a position
  15. pop — soda
  16. pop — to visit
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. pop — music
  19. ground — crushed
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. row — to paddle
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. ground — the earth
  24. mine — belonging to me

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