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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. wake — a trail
  6. rule — a law
  7. rash — hasty
  8. rash — a series
  9. rule — government
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. wound — an injury
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. bear — the animal
  15. season — in sport
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. season — of the year
  19. bear — the animal
  20. race — a contest
  21. kid — child
  22. race — humankind
  23. wound — an injury
  24. race — the arms race

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