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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. fall — to drop
  3. chip — to eat
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. rule — government
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fall — to drop
  8. race — humankind
  9. fall — the season
  10. chest — of your body
  11. race — a contest
  12. race — the arms race
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. pound — a weight
  15. chest — a box
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. chip — for betting
  23. rule — a law
  24. patient — a sick person

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