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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. rule — a law
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. stem — to come from
  9. spell — letters
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. squash — to crush
  12. plane — a tool
  13. cold — not warm
  14. game — a match
  15. cold — an illness
  16. spell — a short time
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. game — wild animals
  20. fork — in a road
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. squash — the sport
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. spell — magic

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