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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. staff — a stick
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. cell — a phone
  7. fall — to drop
  8. rule — a law
  9. staff — employees
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. cell — in biology
  12. rule — government
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. face — to confront
  15. mark — a trace
  16. mark — a grade
  17. face — to point toward
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. fall — the season
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. face — part of the head
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. fall — to drop

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