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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. cold — not warm
  3. mate — a friend
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. race — the arms race
  6. present — there
  7. current — of water
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. bore — to tire
  10. mate — a partner
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. present — a gift
  13. race — humankind
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bore — to drill
  16. mate — to breed
  17. rule — a law
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. cold — an illness
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. current — happening now
  22. current — electric
  23. race — a contest
  24. present — the time now

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