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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. spring — of water
  3. staff — employees
  4. drill — army training
  5. lie — to recline
  6. cold — not warm
  7. staff — a stick
  8. pitch — completely
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. cold — an illness
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. drill — a practice
  14. rule — government
  15. spring — a coil
  16. current — of water
  17. drill — the tool
  18. spring — the season
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. current — electric
  21. current — happening now
  22. staff — employees
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. rule — a law

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