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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. cold — an illness
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. rule — government
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. chip — to eat
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. chip — for betting
  15. cold — not warm
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. rule — a law
  18. wake — a trail
  19. rush — hurry
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. mine — for digging
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. plane — a tool

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