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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 120 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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. rash — hasty
  3. wind — moving air
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. rule — a law
  6. chip — for betting
  7. hand — help
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. fork — in a road
  11. rash — a series
  12. saw — the tool
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. chip — to eat
  15. rule — government
  16. hand — in cards
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. wind — moving air
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. saw — the tool

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