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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 120 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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. fall — to drop
  8. land — to come down
  9. sharp — clever
  10. fall — the season
  11. root — the cause
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. land — ground
  15. root — of a plant
  16. land — a country
  17. dip — to sink
  18. root — of a word

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