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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. prune — to trim
  4. fall — to drop
  5. scale — size or range
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. scale — in music
  9. last — finally
  10. rule — a law
  11. stock — shares
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. last — to go on
  16. last — final
  17. fall — the season
  18. stock — goods
  19. bore — to drill
  20. bore — to tire
  21. prune — to trim
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. fall — to drop
  24. scale — for weighing

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