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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 who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. rule — a law
  3. cell — in biology
  4. fall — to drop
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. shower — to wash
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. rush — hurry
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. rule — government
  15. march — the month
  16. wind — moving air
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. fall — the season
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. squash — the sport
  21. wind — moving air
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. cell — a phone
  24. squash — to crush

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