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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pit — a hole
  4. fall — the season
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. wound — an injury
  7. track — a path
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. wind — moving air
  12. rule — government
  13. stem — to come from
  14. pit — in a race
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. fork — in a road
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. track — a song
  20. wound — an injury
  21. track — to keep track
  22. rule — a law
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. stem — of a plant

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