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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. wind — moving air
  3. rule — a law
  4. rash — a series
  5. last — finally
  6. spell — letters
  7. rule — government
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. spell — magic
  13. rush — hurry
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. stock — shares
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. spell — a short time
  19. wind — moving air
  20. stock — goods
  21. snap — to click
  22. last — final
  23. rash — hasty
  24. last — to go on

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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