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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. drill — the tool
  3. cold — an illness
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. rash — a series
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. rule — government
  11. saw — the tool
  12. drill — a practice
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. bark — to shout
  15. wake — a trail
  16. saw — the tool
  17. rule — a law
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. cold — not warm
  22. rash — hasty
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. drill — army training

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