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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. fall — to drop
  3. mine — for digging
  4. cold — not warm
  5. march — the month
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. fall — to drop
  15. rule — government
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. march — music
  18. plane — a tool
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. march — the month
  23. cold — an illness
  24. rule — a law

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