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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. cell — in biology
  6. rash — a series
  7. pitch — completely
  8. drill — the tool
  9. rash — hasty
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. rule — a law
  12. mark — a grade
  13. wind — moving air
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. mark — a trace
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. chair — a leader
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. cell — a phone
  22. drill — a practice
  23. wind — moving air
  24. drill — army training

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