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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. present — there
  8. cold — not warm
  9. present — the time now
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. ground — crushed
  14. hand — help
  15. present — a gift
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. ground — the earth
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. cold — an illness
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. rule — government
  22. ground — a position
  23. hand — in cards
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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