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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 124 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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rest — a break
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. mug — to rob
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. rule — a law
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. mug — a cup
  12. wake — a trail
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. cold — not warm
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. rule — government
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. bat — the animal
  19. mug — a face
  20. rest — what's left
  21. cold — an illness
  22. shower — rain
  23. date — the fruit
  24. shower — to wash

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