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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. drill — army training
  3. rule — government
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. saw — the tool
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. wind — moving air
  8. rule — a law
  9. squash — the sport
  10. squash — to crush
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stock — shares
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. saw — the tool
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. pitch — completely
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. drill — the tool
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. drill — a practice
  24. stock — goods

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