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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  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. date — on the calendar
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. mate — to breed
  4. cell — in biology
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. chest — a box
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — an illness
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. mate — a friend
  13. mate — a partner
  14. stand — to bear
  15. chest — of your body
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. date — the fruit
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. chest — of your body
  20. stock — shares
  21. rule — a law
  22. rule — government
  23. stock — goods
  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