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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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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. pit — a hole
  3. rule — government
  4. object — to protest
  5. pit — in a race
  6. hand — help
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. object — an aim
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. object — a thing
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. hand — in cards
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — not warm
  21. rule — a law
  22. mine — for digging
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. cold — the Cold War

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