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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bear · fall · chair · mine · swing · rule

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. fall — the season
  4. rule — a law
  5. bear — the animal
  6. rule — government
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. bear — the animal
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. swing — music
  14. mine — for digging
  15. fall — to drop
  16. swing — in golf
  17. chair — a leader
  18. swing — to play on

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