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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  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. scale — for weighing
  2. cold — an illness
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — in cards
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. squash — to crush
  8. rule — a law
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. rule — government
  13. wind — moving air
  14. squash — the sport
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. lie — to recline
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bark — to shout
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. scale — size or range
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. scale — in music
  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