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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. file — a line of people
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. cell — a phone
  7. fall — the season
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. fall — to drop
  10. wind — moving air
  11. perch — the fish
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. file — a tool
  16. file — a document
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. pit — in a race
  21. cell — in biology
  22. pit — a hole
  23. wind — moving air
  24. straw — dry grass

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