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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. vault — a safe
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. rule — government
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wind — moving air
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. drill — a practice
  11. rash — hasty
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. drill — the tool
  19. rule — a law
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. drill — army training
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. rash — a series

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