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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. land — a country
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. board — a committee
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. pass — a permit
  9. game — a match
  10. game — wild animals
  11. cold — an illness
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. land — to come down
  14. snap — to click
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. land — ground
  20. cold — not warm
  21. rule — a law
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. board — to get on
  24. rule — government

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