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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. ground — a position
  4. scale — in music
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. cold — an illness
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. band — a music group
  9. rule — government
  10. cold — not warm
  11. ground — crushed
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. band — a ring
  22. scale — size or range
  23. ground — the earth
  24. date — the fruit

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