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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. spring — a coil
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. chest — a box
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. net — in sport
  9. chest — of your body
  10. fall — the season
  11. chest — of your body
  12. scale — size or range
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. scale — in music
  16. current — happening now
  17. plane — a tool
  18. current — electric
  19. net — after costs
  20. spring — of water
  21. spring — the season
  22. current — of water
  23. fall — to drop
  24. net — for catching

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