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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. tube — the underground
  3. bear — the animal
  4. swing — to play on
  5. key — the most important part
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. key — for a lock
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. key — in music
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. bear — the animal
  15. cap — a hat
  16. rule — a law
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cap — of ice
  19. swing — music
  20. swing — in golf
  21. cold — an illness
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. tube — a container

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