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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. squash — to crush
  6. wind — moving air
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. cue — for pool
  9. wake — a trail
  10. rule — government
  11. cap — a lid
  12. cap — a hat
  13. rule — a law
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. cue — a hint
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. cue — a signal
  18. squash — the sport
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. cold — not warm
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cap — of ice

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