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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  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 — an illness
  2. rule — a law
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. cold — not warm
  6. root — of a plant
  7. saw — the tool
  8. rest — what's left
  9. date — the fruit
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. rest — a break
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. bear — the animal
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. root — of a word
  16. root — the cause
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. rest — what's left
  19. saw — the tool
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bear — the animal
  23. date — on the calendar
  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