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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. rash — hasty
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. rash — a series
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. fall — to drop
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. rule — government
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. bat — the animal
  18. shower — to wash
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. shower — rain
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. rule — a law
  23. fall — the season
  24. arm — part of the body

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