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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. chair — a leader
  5. land — ground
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. land — a country
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. rule — government
  11. pit — a hole
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. land — to come down
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. pit — in a race
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. roll — a cake
  19. cold — an illness
  20. roll — a list
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. rule — a law
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. safe — out of danger

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