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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. suit — in cards
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. rule — a law
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. rule — government
  11. row — to paddle
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bat — the animal
  15. suit — to fit
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. hand — in cards
  18. pit — a hole
  19. hand — help
  20. pit — in a race
  21. suit — clothes
  22. cold — an illness
  23. row — a line
  24. rule — to rule out

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