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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. spring — a coil
  4. fine — high quality
  5. fine — all right
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. swing — music
  8. swing — to play on
  9. spring — the season
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. fall — to drop
  14. swing — in golf
  15. current — happening now
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. current — of water
  18. fall — the season
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. pound — a weight
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. spring — of water
  24. current — electric

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