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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. ground — crushed
  3. cold — an illness
  4. mate — a friend
  5. race — a contest
  6. ground — a position
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. scale — in music
  9. mate — a partner
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. saw — the tool
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. saw — the tool
  17. mate — to breed
  18. rule — a law
  19. cold — not warm
  20. rule — government
  21. scale — size or range
  22. race — humankind
  23. ground — the earth
  24. race — the arms 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