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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. squash — to crush
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. drill — a practice
  5. rule — a law
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. rule — government
  8. board — to get on
  9. drill — the tool
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cold — an illness
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. squash — the sport
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. board — a committee
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. drill — army training
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — not warm
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. racket — for tennis

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