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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. fall — to drop
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. wound — an injury
  6. stem — to come from
  7. court — for sport
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. court — of a king
  10. wound — an injury
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. land — a country
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. squash — the sport
  17. land — to come down
  18. squash — to crush
  19. court — of law
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. land — ground
  23. fall — the season
  24. fall — to drop

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