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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'll be taking the ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. tube — the underground
  3. spell — a short time
  4. field — a subject
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. bank — of a river
  7. spell — magic
  8. bank — for money
  9. pop — soda
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. pop — music
  13. fall — the season
  14. spell — letters
  15. hand — help
  16. hand — in cards
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — farmland
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. pop — to visit
  22. fall — to drop
  23. tube — a container
  24. bank — for money

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