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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. cold — an illness
  3. rule — government
  4. track — to keep track
  5. present — a gift
  6. cold — not warm
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. scale — size or range
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. present — the time now
  13. scale — in music
  14. hand — help
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. rule — a law
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. track — a path
  21. track — a song
  22. hand — in cards
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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