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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. rule — government
  3. board — to get on
  4. clip — for paper
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — to drop
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. pit — in a race
  10. clip — to cut
  11. wake — a trail
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — an amount
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. pass — a permit
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. rule — a law
  18. fall — the season
  19. clip — a video
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. degree — temperature
  22. board — a committee
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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