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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. rule — a law
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. hand — in cards
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. craft — a skill
  8. rule — government
  9. craft — boats
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. kick — in football
  12. hand — help
  13. snap — to click
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — a phone
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. cold — not warm
  21. track — a song
  22. track — to keep track
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. track — a path

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