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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. scale — in music
  5. track — to keep track
  6. track — a path
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. track — a song
  10. cold — not warm
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. rush — hurry
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. fall — the season
  19. cold — an illness
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. chair — a leader
  24. scale — size or range

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