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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. rule — government
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. last — finally
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. last — to go on
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. last — final
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. cold — an illness
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. rule — a law
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — not warm
  23. wake — a trail
  24. cabinet — ministers

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