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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. rule — government
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. chip — to eat
  6. sharp — clever
  7. rash — hasty
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. rash — a series
  14. chip — for betting
  15. rule — a law
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. chip — in 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