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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 116 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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — the season
  5. stem — to come from
  6. face — to point toward
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. rule — a law
  9. mate — a friend
  10. cold — an illness
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. mate — to breed
  16. face — to confront
  17. rule — government
  18. face — part of the head
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. fall — to drop
  21. wax — to grow
  22. kick — in football
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. cold — not warm

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