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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. kid — child
  3. fall — to drop
  4. game — a match
  5. rule — a law
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. race — the arms race
  9. race — humankind
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. fall — to drop
  12. pass — a permit
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. capital — money
  15. kid — to tease
  16. rash — a series
  17. rash — hasty
  18. race — a contest
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. capital — a city
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. game — wild animals
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. rule — government

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