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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. rule — government
  4. drill — the tool
  5. staff — employees
  6. land — ground
  7. race — a contest
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. staff — employees
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. drill — army training
  12. rule — a law
  13. drill — a practice
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. mine — for digging
  17. race — humankind
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. fork — in a road
  20. land — to come down
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. land — a country
  23. staff — a stick
  24. race — the arms race

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