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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 124 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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — to drop
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. rock — a stone
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. field — farmland
  9. snap — to click
  10. kick — in football
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. fall — the season
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. rock — music
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. field — a subject
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. field — for sport

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