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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — to drop
  4. land — ground
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. sharp — clever
  7. present — a gift
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. swing — to play on
  10. last — to go on
  11. fall — the season
  12. land — to come down
  13. last — final
  14. swing — music
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. land — a country
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. swing — in golf
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. present — the time now
  23. present — there
  24. hide — animal skin

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