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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 120 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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. rest — what's left
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. rest — a break
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. fall — the season
  10. prune — to trim
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. degree — temperature
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. degree — from a university
  18. prune — to trim
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. pitch — completely
  21. fall — to drop
  22. bark — to shout
  23. rest — what's left
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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