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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. rule — government
  3. rule — a law
  4. chest — a box
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. rash — hasty
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cold — an illness
  9. chest — of your body
  10. rash — a series
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. fine — high quality
  13. date — the fruit
  14. spell — magic
  15. spell — letters
  16. can — to be able to
  17. spell — a short time
  18. fine — all right
  19. can — a tin
  20. cold — not warm
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. date — on the calendar

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