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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. drill — a practice
  3. pop — music
  4. drill — army training
  5. bulb — for light
  6. hand — in cards
  7. bulb — for light
  8. pop — to visit
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. mate — a partner
  12. pop — soda
  13. race — the arms race
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. drill — the tool
  16. rule — government
  17. mate — a friend
  18. race — humankind
  19. hand — help
  20. race — a contest
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. rule — a law

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