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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. mine — for digging
  4. current — happening now
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. cold — not warm
  7. fall — to drop
  8. current — of water
  9. land — a country
  10. land — ground
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. cold — an illness
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. current — electric
  15. land — to come down
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. fall — the season
  18. rule — government
  19. rule — a law
  20. pitch — completely
  21. fall — to drop
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. dip — to sink
  24. dip — to dunk

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