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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: foot · mug · rule · wind · rash · chest · cap · fall

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. chest — of your body
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. rule — government
  5. rash — a series
  6. cap — a hat
  7. chest — of your body
  8. mug — a cup
  9. foot — a measure
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. fall — the season
  13. mug — a face
  14. chest — a box
  15. rule — a law
  16. cap — of ice
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. fall — to drop
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. rash — hasty
  22. mug — to rob
  23. fall — to drop
  24. cap — a lid

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