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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. deal — to handle
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. rule — a law
  8. cold — an illness
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. rock — a stone
  11. land — to come down
  12. rule — government
  13. cold — not warm
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. land — a country
  16. land — ground
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. mouse — for a computer

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