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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. rush — hurry
  4. squash — the sport
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. drill — a practice
  7. lean — thin
  8. kid — child
  9. lean — to bend
  10. capital — a city
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. rule — a law
  14. drill — the tool
  15. capital — money
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — to tease
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. rule — government
  20. drill — army training
  21. squash — to crush
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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