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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. rule — a law
  3. cold — an illness
  4. land — to come down
  5. swing — to play on
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. swing — in golf
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. bulb — for light
  13. wind — moving air
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — a practice
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bulb — for light
  19. land — ground
  20. swing — music
  21. rule — government
  22. wind — moving air
  23. drill — the tool
  24. land — a country

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