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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. mark — a grade
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. file — a tool
  6. spell — letters
  7. spell — magic
  8. fall — the season
  9. stem — to come from
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. game — wild animals
  12. file — a line of people
  13. bear — the animal
  14. file — a document
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. fall — to drop
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. mark — a trace
  19. game — a match
  20. rule — a law
  21. fall — to drop
  22. spell — a short time
  23. rule — government
  24. bear — the animal

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