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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 120 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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. dip — to sink
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. fall — to drop
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. current — electric
  11. rule — government
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. rule — a law
  14. current — of water
  15. sharp — clever
  16. prune — to trim
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fall — to drop
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. fall — the season
  21. current — happening now
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — the animal

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