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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. key — for a lock
  3. clip — for paper
  4. chair — a leader
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. rule — a law
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. key — in music
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. tear — from crying
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. wind — moving air
  13. rule — government
  14. key — the most important part
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — a video
  17. tear — to rip
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. fall — the season
  23. tear — from crying
  24. fall — to drop

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