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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. wind — moving air
  3. fall — to drop
  4. tear — to rip
  5. rush — hurry
  6. fall — to drop
  7. mate — a friend
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. mate — a partner
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. tear — from crying
  12. cue — a hint
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mate — to breed
  16. cue — a signal
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rule — government
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. fall — the season
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. cue — for pool

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