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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. cold — not warm
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. rule — a law
  5. stock — shares
  6. stock — goods
  7. drill — a practice
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. drill — the tool
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. bulb — for light
  12. cold — an illness
  13. rule — government
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. march — music
  17. march — the month
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. march — the month
  20. drill — army training
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. bulb — for light
  24. cold — the Cold War

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