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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 120 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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. rule — government
  4. bat — the animal
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. bulb — for light
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. court — of a king
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. rule — a law
  11. court — of law
  12. bulb — for light
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. court — for sport
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bark — to shout
  24. chair — a leader

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