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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. content — happy
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. rule — a law
  5. hand — help
  6. spell — a short time
  7. dip — to sink
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. spell — magic
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. content — the amount
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — the season
  19. fall — to drop
  20. spell — letters
  21. rule — government
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. hand — in cards

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