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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. march — the month
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bank — for money
  7. cell — in biology
  8. rule — government
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. bank — for money
  11. march — music
  12. spell — magic
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. rule — a law
  17. cell — a phone
  18. chair — a leader
  19. spell — letters
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. spell — a short time
  23. march — the month
  24. bank — of a river

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