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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. cue — for pool
  3. chest — a box
  4. season — in sport
  5. face — part of the head
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. season — of the year
  8. sharp — clever
  9. race — humankind
  10. face — to confront
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. face — to point toward
  14. race — a contest
  15. cue — a signal
  16. race — the arms race
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. cue — a hint
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. chest — of your body
  23. rule — a law
  24. chest — of your body

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