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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 116 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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. land — to come down
  3. cap — of ice
  4. fall — the season
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. land — ground
  8. fall — to drop
  9. tube — a container
  10. land — a country
  11. lean — thin
  12. cap — a hat
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. bat — the animal
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. tube — the underground
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. lean — to bend
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. cap — a lid
  24. bat — for baseball

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