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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  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 — not warm
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. kick — in football
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. rash — a series
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. rash — hasty
  9. wound — an injury
  10. rule — a law
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — the fish
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. wound — an injury
  20. cold — an illness
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  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