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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cabinet · rule · shower · mine · bulb · game · wake · land

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. game — a match
  3. rule — a law
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. land — a country
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. rule — government
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. game — wild animals
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — rain
  18. mine — for digging
  19. bulb — for light
  20. wake — a trail
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. land — ground
  23. shower — to wash
  24. bulb — for light

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