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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. march — music
  3. pop — music
  4. fall — the season
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. present — a gift
  7. present — the time now
  8. last — to go on
  9. sharp — clever
  10. cue — a hint
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. cue — for pool
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. last — final
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. cue — a signal
  17. march — the month
  18. pop — soda
  19. last — finally
  20. fall — to drop
  21. present — there
  22. march — the month
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. pop — to visit

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