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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. rash — hasty
  3. rule — government
  4. rule — a law
  5. rash — a series
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. face — part of the head
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. face — to point toward
  12. board — a committee
  13. cold — not warm
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. row — a line
  16. bore — to tire
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. row — to paddle
  20. board — to get on
  21. bore — to drill
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. face — to confront

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