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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 120 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 reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. lean — to bend
  5. rule — government
  6. bound — obliged
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. spell — letters
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. fall — to drop
  11. rule — a law
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. dip — to sink
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. spell — a short time
  17. bound — certain
  18. lean — thin
  19. spell — magic
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. fall — the season
  24. bat — the animal

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