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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. cold — not warm
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. rule — government
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. cold — an illness
  9. rule — a law
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. scale — size or range
  16. shower — rain
  17. charge — electricity
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. scale — in music
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. charge — in control
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. charge — a price
  24. scale — for weighing

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