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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. wind — moving air
  4. fall — to drop
  5. mate — a partner
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — what's left
  9. mate — a friend
  10. shower — to wash
  11. wind — moving air
  12. mate — to breed
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. rest — a break
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. fall — the season
  18. bay — a part of the sea

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