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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. pass — a permit
  3. fall — to drop
  4. spring — the season
  5. march — the month
  6. spring — a coil
  7. kid — child
  8. spring — of water
  9. face — to confront
  10. rule — government
  11. face — part of the head
  12. fall — the season
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. rule — a law
  16. march — the month
  17. march — music
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. bat — the animal
  20. kid — to tease
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. face — to point toward
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bat — for baseball

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