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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 116 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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. mine — for digging
  5. rule — government
  6. kid — to tease
  7. march — the month
  8. cap — of ice
  9. ball — a great time
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. cap — a hat
  12. rule — a law
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. wake — a trail
  16. ball — a dance
  17. march — the month
  18. kid — child
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. cap — a lid
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. march — music
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. hand — help

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