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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 120 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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. chest — of your body
  5. pop — soda
  6. chest — of your body
  7. cold — not warm
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. cold — an illness
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. game — a match
  12. pop — music
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. firm — decided
  16. pop — to visit
  17. rule — government
  18. chest — a box
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. game — wild animals
  23. rule — a law
  24. firm — steady

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