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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: rule · fall · pop · lash · shower · prune · bat · lie

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. lie — to recline
  3. pop — music
  4. fall — the season
  5. shower — rain
  6. bat — the animal
  7. prune — to trim
  8. fall — to drop
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. rule — a law
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. pop — to visit
  14. pop — soda
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. shower — to wash
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. fall — to drop
  24. lash — to lash out

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