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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  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. suit — in cards
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. cold — an illness
  4. drill — army training
  5. suit — to fit
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. cold — not warm
  8. toast — bread
  9. rush — hurry
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. rule — a law
  12. drill — the tool
  13. suit — clothes
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. rule — government
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. season — of the year
  18. tear — from crying
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. tear — to rip
  21. season — in sport
  22. tear — from crying
  23. drill — a practice
  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