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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. rule — government
  4. squash — to crush
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. chair — a leader
  10. spell — magic
  11. spell — letters
  12. can — a tin
  13. can — to be able to
  14. rule — a law
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. can — a tin
  17. shower — rain
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. spell — a short time
  20. squash — the sport
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. mine — for digging
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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