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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. rule — government
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. squash — to crush
  6. squash — the sport
  7. scale — in music
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. rule — a law
  10. ball — a dance
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. deal — to handle
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. cold — an illness
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. cold — not warm
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. scale — size or range
  23. ball — a great time
  24. branch — a division

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