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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. band — a music group
  7. fall — to drop
  8. content — happy
  9. kid — to tease
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. stand — to bear
  12. deal — to handle
  13. kid — child
  14. content — the amount
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. fall — the season
  20. mark — a grade
  21. mark — a trace
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. band — a ring
  24. band — a rubber band

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