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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 120 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'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. rule — government
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. club — a group
  6. cold — an illness
  7. squash — to crush
  8. last — finally
  9. last — final
  10. rule — a law
  11. firm — decided
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. squash — the sport
  14. perch — the fish
  15. last — to go on
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. cold — not warm
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. club — for golf
  21. firm — a company
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. club — for dancing

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