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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 120 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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. mate — a partner
  5. mate — a friend
  6. chip — to eat
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. chip — for betting
  10. mate — to breed
  11. wake — a trail
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. cold — not warm
  14. kick — in football
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. rule — a law
  19. rule — government
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. chip — in a computer

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