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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. spring — the season
  5. hand — help
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. fall — the season
  8. current — electric
  9. face — to point toward
  10. roll — a list
  11. current — of water
  12. rule — government
  13. rule — a law
  14. face — to confront
  15. hand — in cards
  16. face — part of the head
  17. fall — to drop
  18. roll — a cake
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. wake — a trail
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — a coil
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. current — happening now

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