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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 chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. cap — a lid
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. ball — a great time
  6. rule — government
  7. pit — in a race
  8. pit — a hole
  9. march — music
  10. march — the month
  11. cold — not warm
  12. rule — a law
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. ball — a dance
  16. cold — an illness
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. cap — of ice
  19. drill — the tool
  20. march — the month
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — army training
  24. cap — a hat

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