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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. rule — a law
  4. squash — to crush
  5. spring — the season
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. present — a gift
  8. spring — of water
  9. game — a match
  10. game — wild animals
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. present — there
  13. land — to come down
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. present — the time now
  16. squash — the sport
  17. spring — a coil
  18. press — a publisher
  19. land — a country
  20. land — ground
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. press — newspapers
  23. press — to push
  24. rule — to rule out

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