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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. rule — government
  5. rest — a break
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. tear — from crying
  8. current — electric
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. current — of water
  11. cold — not warm
  12. tear — to rip
  13. rest — what's left
  14. current — happening now
  15. hand — in cards
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. cold — an illness
  19. tear — from crying
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. rule — a law
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. rest — what's left
  24. hand — help

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