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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  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. rush — a thrill
  2. spell — letters
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. cold — an illness
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. rule — government
  8. fine — all right
  9. rule — a law
  10. spell — a short time
  11. bass — the fish
  12. bass — low music
  13. fine — high quality
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. hand — in cards
  17. rush — hurry
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. spell — magic
  22. hand — help
  23. rule — to rule out
  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