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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. lean — to bend
  3. rule — government
  4. lean — thin
  5. rule — a law
  6. rash — a series
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. pop — to visit
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. rash — hasty
  12. pop — music
  13. snap — to click
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. cap — a hat
  18. pop — soda
  19. cap — a lid
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cap — of ice

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