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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. band — a music group
  3. mate — a partner
  4. roll — a list
  5. rule — government
  6. band — a ring
  7. fall — to drop
  8. race — humankind
  9. lie — to recline
  10. hand — help
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. mate — a friend
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. mate — to breed
  15. rule — a law
  16. race — the arms race
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — in cards
  19. roll — a cake
  20. fall — to drop
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. race — a contest

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