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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: lie · branch · fall · bat · rule · cold · arm · pit

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. fall — the season
  3. cold — not warm
  4. fall — to drop
  5. cold — an illness
  6. lie — to recline
  7. rule — a law
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. branch — a division
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. pit — in a race
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. fall — to drop
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. pit — a hole
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. rule — government

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