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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 am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. squash — to crush
  3. file — a tool
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. pit — a hole
  7. file — a line of people
  8. squash — the sport
  9. cold — not warm
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. pound — a weight
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. rule — government
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. kid — child
  17. file — a document
  18. kid — to tease
  19. pit — in a race
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. rule — a law
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. cold — an illness

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