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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. cell — in biology
  3. rule — government
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. tube — the underground
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. rule — a law
  9. rush — hurry
  10. fall — to drop
  11. tube — a container
  12. hand — help
  13. last — to go on
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. fall — the season
  17. last — final
  18. hand — in cards
  19. cell — a phone
  20. fall — to drop
  21. last — finally
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. cell — in a prison

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