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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — to drop
  4. degree — an amount
  5. cell — in biology
  6. present — there
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. present — a gift
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — a phone
  12. present — the time now
  13. degree — from a university
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. hand — help
  16. swing — music
  17. roll — a list
  18. degree — temperature
  19. roll — a cake
  20. stem — to come from
  21. swing — to play on
  22. swing — in golf
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. hand — in cards

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