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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. lie — to recline
  4. rush — hurry
  5. mate — a friend
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. prune — to trim
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. prune — to trim
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. saw — the tool
  13. fall — the season
  14. mate — to breed
  15. saw — the tool
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. fall — to drop
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. pitch — completely
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. mate — a partner

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