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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: rule · fall · roll · cell · tear · rest

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rule — government
  3. rest — a break
  4. rule — a law
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. cell — a phone
  8. fall — to drop
  9. roll — a cake
  10. tear — from crying
  11. rest — what's left
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — the season
  14. roll — a list
  15. tear — to rip
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. tear — from crying
  18. cell — in biology

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