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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: ground · march · hand · stick · rule · can · chest · squash

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. can — a tin
  3. squash — the sport
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. march — the month
  6. can — a tin
  7. ground — the earth
  8. squash — to crush
  9. hand — in cards
  10. march — the month
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. march — music
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. chest — of your body
  17. can — to be able to
  18. hand — help
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. rule — a law
  21. ground — a position
  22. chest — a box
  23. chest — of your body
  24. ground — crushed

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