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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 chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. net — in sport
  4. drill — army training
  5. march — the month
  6. rule — a law
  7. ground — a position
  8. wind — moving air
  9. drill — the tool
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. rule — government
  15. ground — crushed
  16. march — the month
  17. drill — a practice
  18. march — music
  19. ground — the earth
  20. net — for catching
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bat — the animal
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. net — after costs

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