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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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. swing — to play on
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. fall — the season
  5. dip — to sink
  6. swing — in golf
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. fine — high quality
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. fine — all right
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. drill — a practice
  15. fall — to drop
  16. drill — the tool
  17. drill — army training
  18. swing — music

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