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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. rule — government
  5. cold — an illness
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. rule — a law
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. wound — an injury
  16. game — a match
  17. court — of a king
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. cold — not warm
  20. wound — an injury
  21. court — of law
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. court — for sport
  24. cold — the Cold War

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