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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.

Make a worksheet

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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. row — a line
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fall — to drop
  6. row — to paddle
  7. fall — the season
  8. fork — in a road
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. lean — thin
  11. lean — to bend
  12. wind — moving air
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. face — part of the head
  16. mine — for digging
  17. face — to point toward
  18. face — to confront
  19. stem — to come from
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. wind — moving air
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. stem — of a plant

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