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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. rule — government
  3. squash — the sport
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. pass — a permit
  6. rash — a series
  7. rule — a law
  8. rash — hasty
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. bound — obliged
  11. ground — the earth
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. ground — crushed
  14. bound — certain
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. bound — tied together
  18. squash — to crush
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. ground — a position
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. kick — in football
  24. pass — to spend time

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