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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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Word bank
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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: degree · rule · tear · fall · chip · spell

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. tear — from crying
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. fall — to drop
  5. chip — for betting
  6. rule — a law
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. degree — an amount
  9. tear — to rip
  10. degree — from a university
  11. spell — magic
  12. chip — to eat
  13. fall — the season
  14. rule — government
  15. spell — letters
  16. spell — a short time
  17. degree — temperature
  18. tear — from crying

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