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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. clip — for paper
  7. charge — electricity
  8. rule — a law
  9. chair — a leader
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. clip — a video
  12. charge — a price
  13. clip — to cut
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. cold — not warm
  16. charge — in control
  17. ground — a position
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. plane — a tool
  20. rule — government
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. ground — crushed
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. ground — the earth

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