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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 was locked up in a ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. object — a thing
  3. spell — letters
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. object — to protest
  6. cell — a phone
  7. present — there
  8. rule — a law
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. chest — a box
  11. chest — of your body
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — the season
  14. fall — to drop
  15. rule — government
  16. spell — magic
  17. spell — a short time
  18. present — a gift
  19. chest — of your body
  20. present — the time now
  21. object — an aim
  22. bore — to tire
  23. bore — to drill
  24. cell — in biology

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