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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 116 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 who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. board — a committee
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. field — a subject
  7. wind — moving air
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. fall — to drop
  11. rule — a law
  12. chip — for betting
  13. fall — the season
  14. field — for sport
  15. wind — moving air
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. field — farmland
  18. board — to get on
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. chip — to eat
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. rule — government
  24. wind — to turn a key

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