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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. rule — a law
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. tear — to rip
  7. press — a publisher
  8. rule — government
  9. bore — to drill
  10. spring — a coil
  11. game — wild animals
  12. fall — to drop
  13. press — newspapers
  14. spring — of water
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bore — to tire
  18. bark — to shout
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. spring — the season
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. game — a match
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. press — to push

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