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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. suit — clothes
  4. row — a line
  5. fall — to drop
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. fall — the season
  8. saw — the tool
  9. plane — a tool
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. row — to paddle
  15. saw — the tool
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. shower — rain
  18. shower — to wash
  19. suit — to fit
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. dip — to sink
  23. fall — to drop
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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