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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 mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. court — for sport
  4. file — a tool
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. land — ground
  8. fall — to drop
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. ground — a position
  11. court — of a king
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. file — a line of people
  15. fall — the season
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. land — to come down
  18. mine — for digging
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. file — a document
  21. ground — the earth
  22. land — a country
  23. court — of law
  24. ground — crushed

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