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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bank — of a river
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. fine — high quality
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. fall — the season
  8. pop — soda
  9. fall — to drop
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. mark — a grade
  13. bank — for money
  14. cold — not warm
  15. mark — a trace
  16. bank — for money
  17. fall — to drop
  18. pop — to visit
  19. last — finally
  20. pop — music
  21. rule — government
  22. fine — all right
  23. rule — a law
  24. last — to go on

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