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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. rule — government
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. key — for a lock
  5. fall — to drop
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bore — to drill
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. fall — the season
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bore — to tire
  14. fall — to drop
  15. rule — a law
  16. wound — an injury
  17. chest — a box
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. key — in music
  21. key — the most important part
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. wound — an injury

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