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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. season — of the year
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. degree — temperature
  12. pound — a weight
  13. cold — not warm
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. season — in sport
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. degree — from a university
  19. rule — a law
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. degree — an amount
  23. cold — an illness
  24. pound — to hit hard

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