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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. suit — in cards
  4. bore — to drill
  5. degree — temperature
  6. file — a tool
  7. rule — government
  8. file — a line of people
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. rule — a law
  12. file — a document
  13. cold — an illness
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. suit — to fit
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. degree — an amount
  18. bore — to tire
  19. degree — from a university
  20. suit — clothes
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. cold — not warm
  23. chair — a leader
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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