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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  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. rule — government
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. stock — shares
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. spell — letters
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wind — moving air
  9. spell — magic
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bore — to tire
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. rule — a law
  15. wind — moving air
  16. stock — goods
  17. fork — in a road
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. bore — to drill
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. spell — a short time
  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