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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. rule — government
  3. squash — the sport
  4. can — a tin
  5. row — a line
  6. fall — to drop
  7. ground — crushed
  8. object — a thing
  9. object — to protest
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. object — an aim
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. can — to be able to
  15. rule — a law
  16. cold — not warm
  17. ground — a position
  18. squash — to crush
  19. fall — the season
  20. fall — to drop
  21. cold — an illness
  22. ground — the earth
  23. row — to paddle
  24. squash — the vegetable

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