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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. net — after costs
  4. bulb — for light
  5. cue — a hint
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bulb — for light
  11. rash — hasty
  12. rule — a law
  13. net — in sport
  14. net — for catching
  15. rule — government
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. cue — a signal
  19. wake — a trail
  20. cue — for pool
  21. cold — an illness
  22. scale — size or range
  23. rash — a series
  24. scale — in music

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