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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. cold — not warm
  5. rule — government
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. mark — a trace
  8. pass — a permit
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bark — to shout
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. cold — an illness
  13. ground — crushed
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. rule — a law
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. ground — the earth
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. ground — a position

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