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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. fall — to drop
  3. land — ground
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — a subject
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wind — moving air
  8. fall — to drop
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. rule — government
  12. bore — to tire
  13. wound — an injury
  14. land — a country
  15. rule — a law
  16. wound — an injury
  17. fall — the season
  18. bore — to drill
  19. rock — music
  20. wind — moving air
  21. land — to come down
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. field — farmland
  24. rock — a stone

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