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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. rule — a law
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. rule — government
  7. cold — not warm
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. ground — crushed
  15. cold — an illness
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ground — a position
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. mine — for digging
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. wave — of the sea

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