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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. present — there
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. rule — a law
  5. cell — a phone
  6. rule — government
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. fine — all right
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. present — the time now
  12. present — a gift
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. fall — the season
  15. cell — in biology
  16. fall — to drop
  17. snap — to click
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. track — a song
  20. track — a path
  21. fine — high quality
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. fall — to drop
  24. track — to keep track

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