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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 116 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. rule — government
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. board — a committee
  7. bass — the fish
  8. wound — an injury
  9. rule — a law
  10. ground — a position
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bass — low music
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. squash — to crush
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. board — to get on
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. ground — crushed
  22. ground — the earth
  23. squash — the sport
  24. hand — in cards

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