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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. face — part of the head
  3. bore — to tire
  4. fall — to drop
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. board — a committee
  8. fall — the season
  9. tear — from crying
  10. degree — temperature
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. face — to point toward
  13. face — to confront
  14. kid — to tease
  15. bore — to drill
  16. degree — an amount
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. tear — from crying
  19. kid — child
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. degree — from a university
  22. game — a match
  23. board — to get on
  24. tear — to rip

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