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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bore — to drill
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. board — to get on
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. rule — government
  9. bore — to tire
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in biology
  13. board — a committee
  14. last — to go on
  15. rule — a law
  16. last — final
  17. tear — to rip
  18. tear — from crying
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. tear — from crying
  22. last — finally
  23. swing — music
  24. swing — in golf

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