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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. bulb — for light
  3. ball — a dance
  4. last — final
  5. last — finally
  6. rule — government
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. bulb — for light
  12. spell — a short time
  13. rule — a law
  14. ball — a great time
  15. fork — in a road
  16. last — to go on
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. spell — magic
  20. rest — what's left
  21. cold — not warm
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. spell — letters
  24. rest — a break

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