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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. rule — government
  8. fall — to drop
  9. rule — a law
  10. row — a line
  11. spell — a short time
  12. deal — to handle
  13. date — the fruit
  14. face — part of the head
  15. spell — letters
  16. row — to paddle
  17. spell — magic
  18. face — to confront
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. fall — the season
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. face — to point toward
  24. fork — in a road

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