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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. wake — a trail
  3. ground — a position
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. mate — to breed
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. rule — government
  8. mate — a friend
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. spell — a short time
  12. ground — the earth
  13. spell — magic
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. mate — a partner
  17. ground — crushed
  18. dip — to sink
  19. rule — a law
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. mine — for digging
  23. cold — an illness
  24. spell — letters

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