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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. suit — in cards
  3. club — for golf
  4. wind — moving air
  5. track — to keep track
  6. spell — letters
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. rule — government
  9. spell — a short time
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. club — a group
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. drill — army training
  14. suit — clothes
  15. track — a song
  16. drill — a practice
  17. cold — an illness
  18. spell — magic
  19. suit — to fit
  20. drill — the tool
  21. cold — not warm
  22. club — for dancing
  23. track — a path
  24. wind — moving air

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