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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 124 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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  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. chair — a leader
  2. rule — government
  3. land — to come down
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — the season
  6. land — a country
  7. rest — what's left
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. land — ground
  11. tear — to rip
  12. roll — a list
  13. rest — a break
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. fall — to drop
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. rest — what's left
  22. roll — a cake
  23. patient — a sick person
  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