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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. spell — a short time
  3. drill — army training
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. spring — a coil
  7. suit — in cards
  8. spell — magic
  9. cold — not warm
  10. suit — clothes
  11. spell — letters
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. rule — government
  15. suit — to fit
  16. drill — the tool
  17. spring — the season
  18. spring — of water
  19. kick — in football
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. rule — a law
  23. drill — a practice
  24. wind — moving air

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