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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 120 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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. rule — government
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. hand — in cards
  7. shower — rain
  8. season — in sport
  9. shower — to wash
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. pit — in a race
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. hand — help
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. season — of the year
  17. pit — a hole
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. wound — an injury
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. rule — a law
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. season — to add flavour

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