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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. march — the month
  3. rest — what's left
  4. current — of water
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. current — electric
  8. game — a match
  9. rash — a series
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rule — a law
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. rest — a break
  14. rule — government
  15. cold — an illness
  16. current — happening now
  17. rash — hasty
  18. march — the month
  19. game — wild animals
  20. march — music
  21. cold — not warm
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. wake — a trail

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