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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. face — to confront
  3. fall — to drop
  4. face — to point toward
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. fall — the season
  7. shower — rain
  8. rash — a series
  9. pop — to visit
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. face — part of the head
  12. rash — hasty
  13. spell — a short time
  14. vault — a safe
  15. spell — letters
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. wake — a trail
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. pop — soda
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. pop — music
  23. spell — magic
  24. shower — to wash

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