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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. wind — moving air
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. pit — a hole
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. shower — to wash
  9. band — a music group
  10. shower — rain
  11. press — to push
  12. fall — to drop
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. tube — the underground
  16. press — newspapers
  17. fall — the season
  18. band — a ring
  19. press — a publisher
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. pit — in a race
  22. tube — a container
  23. wind — moving air
  24. chair — a leader

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