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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 124 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 very handy with a ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. saw — the tool
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. pop — soda
  7. stem — to come from
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. squash — the sport
  11. scale — size or range
  12. rule — a law
  13. pop — to visit
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. squash — to crush
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. scale — in music
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. rule — government
  21. cold — not warm
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. pop — music

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