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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. fall — to drop
  3. spell — a short time
  4. spell — letters
  5. bore — to tire
  6. sharp — clever
  7. rule — a law
  8. cold — not warm
  9. fall — the season
  10. land — ground
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. bore — to drill
  15. land — a country
  16. fall — to drop
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. rule — government
  19. cold — an illness
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. land — to come down
  22. stem — to come from
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. spell — magic

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