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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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. mate — a partner
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. cold — not warm
  8. court — of a king
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. squash — to crush
  11. sharp — clever
  12. court — for sport
  13. squash — the sport
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. rule — government
  16. rule — a law
  17. court — of law
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. mate — to breed
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. mate — a friend
  23. cold — an illness
  24. fan — to cool the air

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