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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. last — to go on
  4. fine — all right
  5. last — finally
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. bear — the animal
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. band — a ring
  10. cold — an illness
  11. kick — in football
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. rule — a law
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. bear — the animal
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. rule — government
  22. band — a music group
  23. fine — high quality
  24. last — final

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