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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. saw — the tool
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. saw — the tool
  6. season — in sport
  7. board — to get on
  8. season — of the year
  9. spring — of water
  10. rule — a law
  11. spring — the season
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. spring — a coil
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. wound — an injury
  17. cold — not warm
  18. wound — an injury
  19. rule — government
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. board — a committee

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