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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 116 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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. band — a music group
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. charge — in control
  7. charge — a price
  8. band — a ring
  9. dip — to sink
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. fall — to drop
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. lie — to recline
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. charge — electricity
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — for light
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. wind — moving air
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. fall — the season
  24. dip — a sauce

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