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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. rule — government
  6. club — a group
  7. rule — a law
  8. club — for golf
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. wound — an injury
  13. club — for dancing
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. perch — the fish
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. wound — an injury
  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