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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. land — a country
  3. land — to come down
  4. pit — a hole
  5. fall — to drop
  6. file — a document
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. fall — the season
  9. rule — a law
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. spring — a coil
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. file — a line of people
  14. spring — the season
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. spring — of water
  17. pit — in a race
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. rule — government
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. file — a tool
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. land — ground

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