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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. net — in sport
  5. cold — an illness
  6. board — a committee
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. present — a gift
  9. saw — the tool
  10. cold — not warm
  11. board — to get on
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. present — the time now
  14. net — for catching
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. net — after costs
  17. chair — a leader
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. saw — the tool
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. stand — to bear
  23. rule — a law
  24. present — there

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