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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. rush — hurry
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. fall — to drop
  7. net — in sport
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. band — a ring
  10. net — after costs
  11. pit — a hole
  12. band — a music group
  13. fall — the season
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. pit — in a race
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. net — for catching
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. hand — help

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