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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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468
Word bank
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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. cold — an illness
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. branch — a division
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. rule — a law
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. rule — to rule out

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