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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. last — to go on
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. last — finally
  7. spring — the season
  8. tube — a container
  9. spring — of water
  10. cold — an illness
  11. pass — a permit
  12. cold — not warm
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. band — a music group
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. tube — the underground
  17. spring — a coil
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. last — final
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. band — a ring
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. rule — government

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