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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 120 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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. rule — a law
  3. fall — to drop
  4. race — a contest
  5. chest — of your body
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. clip — a video
  8. cue — for pool
  9. rule — government
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. cue — a signal
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. clip — for paper
  14. race — humankind
  15. chest — a box
  16. cue — a hint
  17. clip — to cut
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. fall — to drop
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. chest — of your body
  23. race — the arms race
  24. fall — the season

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