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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. branch — a division
  4. toast — bread
  5. wind — moving air
  6. fall — to drop
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. fall — the season
  10. chair — a leader
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. ground — a position
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. ground — crushed
  16. chip — to eat
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. chip — for betting
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. wake — a trail
  22. ground — the earth
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. wind — moving air

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