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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  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. squash — to crush
  2. object — to protest
  3. rule — a law
  4. fall — to drop
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. sharp — clever
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. fall — the season
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. bulb — for light
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bulb — for light
  14. squash — the sport
  15. fall — to drop
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. object — an aim
  18. object — a thing
  19. row — to paddle
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. row — a line
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. wind — moving air
  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