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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 124 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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. fall — to drop
  3. firm — steady
  4. current — electric
  5. current — happening now
  6. current — of water
  7. fall — the season
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. firm — decided
  10. file — a line of people
  11. sharp — clever
  12. spell — magic
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. spell — letters
  15. rule — a law
  16. file — a document
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. spell — a short time
  19. fall — to drop
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. firm — a company
  22. file — a tool
  23. rule — government
  24. bowl — a dish

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