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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. current — of water
  3. cold — not warm
  4. current — happening now
  5. fall — the season
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. rule — government
  8. rock — a stone
  9. current — electric
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. sharp — clever
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. fall — to drop
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. rule — a law
  17. cold — an illness
  18. rock — music

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