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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. 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. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. ground — a position
  4. ground — crushed
  5. wind — moving air
  6. saw — the tool
  7. land — ground
  8. fall — to drop
  9. plane — a tool
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. land — a country
  16. land — to come down
  17. ground — the earth
  18. fall — to drop
  19. rule — government
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. wind — moving air
  22. saw — the tool
  23. fall — the season
  24. 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