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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. kid — to tease
  3. fall — the season
  4. face — part of the head
  5. kick — in football
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. dip — to sink
  10. track — to keep track
  11. court — of a king
  12. track — a song
  13. track — a path
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. face — to point toward
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. court — for sport
  21. court — of law
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. fall — to drop
  24. face — to confront

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