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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. track — a song
  8. track — to keep track
  9. plane — a tool
  10. swing — music
  11. wake — a trail
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. swing — to play on
  14. fall — the season
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. scale — size or range
  18. scale — in music
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. swing — in golf
  21. fall — to drop
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. track — a path

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