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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. rest — what's left
  3. face — part of the head
  4. rule — a law
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. drill — a practice
  7. ball — a great time
  8. ball — a dance
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. face — to point toward
  11. game — wild animals
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rule — government
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — not warm
  17. rest — a break
  18. drill — the tool
  19. face — to confront
  20. drill — army training
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. game — a match
  24. cold — the Cold War

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