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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. rule — government
  5. ground — crushed
  6. cold — an illness
  7. craft — boats
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. craft — a skill
  10. pop — to visit
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. ground — the earth
  13. sharp — clever
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. ground — a position
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — not warm
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. pop — music
  20. rule — a law
  21. row — to paddle
  22. row — a line
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. pop — soda

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