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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. craft — a skill
  3. fall — to drop
  4. rule — government
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. land — to come down
  9. shower — rain
  10. craft — boats
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. land — ground
  13. land — a country
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. chest — a box
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. fall — to drop
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. chest — of your body
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. chest — of your body
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. fall — the season
  24. shower — to wash

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