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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 had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. face — part of the head
  3. bulb — for light
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. bulb — for light
  6. file — a line of people
  7. cold — an illness
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. fall — to drop
  10. file — a document
  11. kick — in football
  12. file — a tool
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. stock — goods
  16. fall — the season
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. stock — shares
  22. cold — not warm
  23. face — to confront
  24. face — to point toward

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