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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. cold — an illness
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. rest — a break
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. squash — the sport
  12. rest — what's left
  13. squash — to crush
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. chip — to eat
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. cold — not warm
  18. rest — what's left
  19. chip — for betting
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. sharp — clever
  24. rule — a law

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