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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. ball — a dance
  3. rule — government
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. ball — a great time
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. bore — to tire
  12. season — of the year
  13. rule — a law
  14. bore — to drill
  15. shower — to wash
  16. shower — rain
  17. season — in sport
  18. row — to paddle
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. rush — hurry
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. row — a line

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