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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. cold — not warm
  3. fall — the season
  4. can — a tin
  5. cap — of ice
  6. plane — a tool
  7. cap — a hat
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. fall — to drop
  10. cap — a lid
  11. bore — to tire
  12. can — to be able to
  13. cold — an illness
  14. wake — a trail
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. bore — to drill
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. fall — to drop
  19. can — a tin
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. rule — government
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. plane — in geometry

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