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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. present — the time now
  3. fall — to drop
  4. present — there
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. fall — to drop
  12. present — a gift
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. rush — hurry
  17. rule — government
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. branch — a division
  21. rule — a law
  22. fine — high quality
  23. date — the fruit
  24. fall — the season

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