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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. rule — a law
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. tube — a container
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. rule — government
  8. fall — the season
  9. season — in sport
  10. last — final
  11. last — to go on
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. last — finally
  14. season — of the year
  15. key — for a lock
  16. cold — not warm
  17. fall — to drop
  18. key — in music
  19. tube — the underground
  20. key — the most important part
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. pit — a hole
  23. fall — to drop
  24. pit — in a race

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