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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. fall — to drop
  3. wind — moving air
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. pit — a hole
  6. wake — a trail
  7. march — music
  8. cell — in biology
  9. march — the month
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. pit — in a race
  12. wind — moving air
  13. rock — a stone
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. fall — to drop
  16. rock — music
  17. cell — a phone
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. swing — to play on
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. swing — music
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. fall — the season
  24. swing — in golf

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