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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — to drop
  3. game — wild animals
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. game — a match
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. lie — to recline
  8. chip — to eat
  9. spring — the season
  10. chip — for betting
  11. branch — a division
  12. spring — of water
  13. fall — the season
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. spring — a coil
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. rule — a law
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. rule — government

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