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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — to drop
  3. shower — to wash
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. shower — rain
  6. drill — the tool
  7. pass — a permit
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. fall — the season
  10. present — a gift
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. drill — army training
  13. present — there
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. prune — to trim
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. content — happy
  20. content — the amount
  21. drill — a practice
  22. present — the time now
  23. chair — a leader
  24. prune — to trim

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