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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  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. fall — to drop
  2. rule — government
  3. fall — the season
  4. plane — a tool
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. game — wild animals
  7. squash — the sport
  8. rule — a law
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. current — electric
  11. fall — to drop
  12. squash — to crush
  13. craft — boats
  14. march — the month
  15. march — the month
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. game — a match
  20. march — music
  21. current — of water
  22. current — happening now
  23. craft — a skill
  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