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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 124 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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. charge — electricity
  4. shower — to wash
  5. charge — in control
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. rule — a law
  9. rule — government
  10. charge — a price
  11. row — to paddle
  12. row — a line
  13. last — final
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. shower — rain
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. cold — an illness
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. last — finally
  24. cold — not warm

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