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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. pass — a permit
  3. fall — to drop
  4. squash — the sport
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. fall — the season
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. squash — to crush
  12. cold — not warm
  13. game — wild animals
  14. game — a match
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. chip — to eat
  19. cold — an illness
  20. lie — to recline
  21. chip — for betting
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. cold — the Cold War

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