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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — for digging
  5. game — wild animals
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bank — for money
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bank — of a river
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. rule — a law
  15. wake — a trail
  16. rash — a series
  17. rule — government
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. bank — for money
  21. rash — hasty
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. game — a match

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