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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — the season
  3. mate — a partner
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. cell — in biology
  6. last — finally
  7. mate — to breed
  8. race — the arms race
  9. last — final
  10. spring — the season
  11. last — to go on
  12. cell — a phone
  13. rule — government
  14. spring — of water
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. spring — a coil
  18. bore — to tire
  19. rule — a law
  20. mate — a friend
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — humankind
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bore — to drill

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