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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — the season
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. mine — for digging
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — the animal
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. mug — a cup
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. pitch — completely
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. chair — a leader
  14. fall — to drop
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mug — a face
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. mug — to rob

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