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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. rule — government
  4. fine — all right
  5. track — a song
  6. rule — a law
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. track — to keep track
  9. branch — a division
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. scale — in music
  12. stock — goods
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — an illness
  16. stock — shares
  17. kick — in football
  18. scale — size or range
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. fine — high quality
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. track — a path

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