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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 120 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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. row — a line
  4. land — a country
  5. rule — government
  6. press — newspapers
  7. saw — the tool
  8. press — a publisher
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. land — to come down
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. wound — an injury
  13. rule — a law
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. rest — what's left
  16. press — to push
  17. land — ground
  18. row — to paddle
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. rest — a break
  21. wound — an injury
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. saw — the tool
  24. leaves — to go away

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