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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cold · tube · game · row · wake · fall · rule · nail

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. row — to paddle
  3. rule — government
  4. fall — to drop
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. cold — not warm
  8. tube — a container
  9. game — a match
  10. tube — the underground
  11. fall — to drop
  12. rule — a law
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. game — wild animals
  17. fall — the season
  18. cold — an illness
  19. wake — a trail
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. row — a line
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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