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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. fall — the season
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — to drop
  5. press — to push
  6. stem — to come from
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. rule — government
  10. wake — a trail
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. press — a publisher
  13. press — newspapers
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. rule — a law
  17. capital — money
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. spell — letters
  23. capital — a city
  24. spell — a short time

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