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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 116 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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. rule — government
  4. fall — to drop
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. wax — to grow
  8. bank — of a river
  9. rule — a law
  10. file — a document
  11. mine — for digging
  12. file — a tool
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. fall — the season
  15. stem — to come from
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. bank — for money
  18. file — a line of people
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. stand — to bear
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. bank — for money

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