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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 124 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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. fall — to drop
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. spring — the season
  5. fall — the season
  6. present — the time now
  7. kid — to tease
  8. spring — of water
  9. band — a music group
  10. dip — to sink
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. present — there
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. spring — a coil
  18. kick — in football
  19. fall — to drop
  20. kid — child
  21. scale — size or range
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. present — a gift
  24. scale — in music

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