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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. court — for sport
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. court — of law
  5. root — of a word
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. rule — a law
  8. cold — not warm
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. court — of a king
  12. wind — moving air
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. bore — to drill
  15. cold — an illness
  16. root — of a plant
  17. bore — to tire
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. wind — moving air
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. dip — to sink
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. root — the cause
  24. wind — to turn a key

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