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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: march · wake · face · degree · fall · pass · lie · rule

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. degree — from a university
  3. rule — a law
  4. face — part of the head
  5. lie — to recline
  6. march — the month
  7. wake — a trail
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. rule — government
  10. march — music
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. fall — to drop
  13. pass — a permit
  14. degree — temperature
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. degree — an amount
  19. face — to point toward
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. face — to confront
  22. fall — the season
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. march — the month

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