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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 120 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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. charge — in control
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. game — a match
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. rule — a law
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. bulb — for light
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. bulb — for light
  11. chip — to eat
  12. game — wild animals
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. rule — government
  15. cold — not warm
  16. rush — hurry
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. charge — electricity
  21. charge — a price
  22. chip — for betting
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cold — an illness

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