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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. rule — government
  3. row — to paddle
  4. march — the month
  5. bound — obliged
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. row — a line
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. bound — tied together
  10. chair — a leader
  11. branch — a division
  12. march — the month
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. charge — in control
  15. bound — certain
  16. charge — electricity
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. march — music
  20. game — wild animals
  21. rule — a law
  22. charge — a price
  23. game — a match
  24. branch — of a tree

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