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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. fall — to drop
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. saw — the tool
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. rush — hurry
  7. fall — the season
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. fall — to drop
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. deal — to handle
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. deal — an agreement

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