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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. club — for golf
  3. stem — to come from
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. hand — in cards
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. club — for dancing
  11. rule — government
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — not warm
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. chair — a leader
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. hand — help
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. rule — a law
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. club — a group

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