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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. degree — from a university
  6. rule — a law
  7. fall — the season
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. bass — the fish
  11. chest — a box
  12. degree — temperature
  13. chest — of your body
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. fall — to drop
  16. chest — of your body
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. degree — an amount
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. deal — to handle
  22. rule — government
  23. bass — low music
  24. ruler — for measuring

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