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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 116 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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. club — for golf
  4. spell — magic
  5. cap — a hat
  6. club — for dancing
  7. spell — letters
  8. rule — government
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. land — a country
  11. spell — a short time
  12. deal — to handle
  13. wind — moving air
  14. land — ground
  15. club — a group
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — humankind
  18. race — the arms race
  19. rule — a law
  20. cap — a lid
  21. wind — moving air
  22. cap — of ice
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. land — to come down

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