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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. firm — decided
  3. can — a tin
  4. cold — an illness
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. mate — a friend
  8. firm — steady
  9. rule — a law
  10. can — a tin
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cell — in biology
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mate — a partner
  16. can — to be able to
  17. stock — shares
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. firm — a company
  21. wind — moving air
  22. stock — goods
  23. rule — government
  24. cell — a phone

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