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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. spell — magic
  3. present — a gift
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. fall — the season
  6. cold — not warm
  7. rule — a law
  8. swing — music
  9. cold — an illness
  10. spell — a short time
  11. stem — to come from
  12. present — there
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. spell — letters
  17. swing — in golf
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. fall — to drop
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. sharp — clever
  22. swing — to play on
  23. fall — to drop
  24. rule — government

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