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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 light ________________ burned out.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. cold — not warm
  3. rule — government
  4. rule — a law
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. court — of a king
  8. roll — a list
  9. wound — an injury
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. net — for catching
  12. wound — an injury
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. cold — an illness
  15. net — after costs
  16. roll — a cake
  17. bulb — for light
  18. court — of law
  19. net — in sport
  20. court — for sport
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. roll — on a roll

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