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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. hand — help
  4. wind — moving air
  5. fall — to drop
  6. chest — of your body
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. chest — of your body
  9. rule — a law
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. hand — in cards
  13. wind — moving air
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. rule — government
  16. chest — a box
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. content — the amount
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. lie — to recline
  23. fall — to drop
  24. content — happy

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