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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  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. rule — a law
  2. kid — to tease
  3. rule — government
  4. bulb — for light
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. bulb — for light
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. fall — to drop
  11. wound — an injury
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. wound — an injury
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. branch — a division
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. fall — to drop
  21. kid — child
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. hide — animal skin
  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