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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. wind — moving air
  4. cold — not warm
  5. present — the time now
  6. present — there
  7. spell — a short time
  8. staff — employees
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. rule — government
  12. drill — the tool
  13. present — a gift
  14. spell — magic
  15. pitch — completely
  16. rule — a law
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. drill — a practice
  19. staff — employees
  20. spell — letters
  21. drill — army training
  22. staff — a stick
  23. wind — moving air
  24. rule — to rule out

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