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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 120 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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. mark — a grade
  3. rule — a law
  4. fall — to drop
  5. hand — in cards
  6. squash — the sport
  7. land — a country
  8. face — part of the head
  9. hand — help
  10. land — ground
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. fall — to drop
  13. squash — to crush
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. rule — government
  17. fall — the season
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. mark — a trace
  20. face — to confront
  21. face — to point toward
  22. land — to come down
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. rule — to rule out

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