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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 116 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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. rule — government
  3. hand — help
  4. snap — to click
  5. cold — not warm
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. object — an aim
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. object — to protest
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. hand — in cards
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. rule — a law
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. cold — an illness
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. object — a thing
  22. tube — a container
  23. tube — the underground
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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