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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  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. rule — government
  2. hand — help
  3. spell — magic
  4. fall — the season
  5. spell — letters
  6. fall — to drop
  7. cap — a hat
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. mug — to rob
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. bass — the fish
  12. cap — a lid
  13. fall — to drop
  14. mug — a cup
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. bass — low music
  17. rule — a law
  18. hand — in cards
  19. cap — of ice
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. spell — a short time
  23. mug — a face
  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