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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. cap — a lid
  4. fall — the season
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. cap — of ice
  7. snap — to click
  8. pit — a hole
  9. cap — a hat
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. stock — goods
  12. bark — to shout
  13. stock — shares
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. bass — the fish
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bass — low music
  24. pit — in a race

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