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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. cold — an illness
  3. fall — to drop
  4. perch — the fish
  5. kick — in football
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. fall — the season
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. cold — not warm
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. fall — to drop
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. rule — a law

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