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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. cold — an illness
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. land — a country
  5. fork — in a road
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. chair — a leader
  8. land — ground
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. squash — the sport
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. lie — to recline
  15. land — to come down
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. pass — a permit
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. cold — not warm

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