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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 116 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. land — a country
  3. rule — a law
  4. cold — an illness
  5. swing — music
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. cold — not warm
  9. land — to come down
  10. rule — government
  11. swing — to play on
  12. squash — the sport
  13. chair — a leader
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. land — ground
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. squash — to crush
  18. swing — in golf

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