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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bank — for money
  4. net — in sport
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. cell — in biology
  7. net — after costs
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bound — certain
  14. fine — high quality
  15. net — for catching
  16. bank — for money
  17. bound — obliged
  18. bank — of a river
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. bound — tied together
  22. fine — all right
  23. cold — not warm
  24. fall — the season

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