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

Word bank: rule · fall · object · wind · craft · last · hand · pitch

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. object — a thing
  3. object — to protest
  4. last — finally
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. last — to go on
  7. pitch — completely
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. fall — to drop
  10. hand — in cards
  11. craft — a skill
  12. object — an aim
  13. rule — government
  14. wind — moving air
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. last — final
  17. fall — the season
  18. craft — boats
  19. fall — to drop
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. hand — help
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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