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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rash — a series
  3. object — to protest
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. cue — a hint
  9. degree — temperature
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. degree — from a university
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. degree — an amount
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. object — a thing
  17. rule — government
  18. cue — for pool
  19. cue — a signal
  20. bound — certain
  21. rule — a law
  22. object — an aim
  23. bound — obliged
  24. bound — tied together

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