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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. bat — the animal
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. can — a tin
  6. march — the month
  7. rule — government
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. rule — a law
  10. can — a tin
  11. march — music
  12. rash — hasty
  13. cold — not warm
  14. board — a committee
  15. can — to be able to
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. board — to get on
  18. rash — a series
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. march — the month
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. cold — an illness

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