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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. fall — to drop
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — not warm
  10. lie — to recline
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. fall — the season
  13. degree — temperature
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. degree — from a university
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. degree — an amount
  20. rush — hurry
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. fall — to drop
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — what's left

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