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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. bat — the animal
  3. rule — government
  4. craft — a skill
  5. rule — a law
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. cold — an illness
  10. game — wild animals
  11. cold — not warm
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. game — a match
  16. wound — an injury
  17. plane — a tool
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. craft — boats
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. wound — an injury
  24. pitcher — a jug

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