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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 124 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Tom got himself in 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. wind — moving air
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. hand — in cards
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. clip — to cut
  8. rule — a law
  9. cold — an illness
  10. clip — a video
  11. wind — moving air
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. hand — help
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. rule — government
  17. clip — for paper
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. jam — a tight spot
  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