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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — the season
  3. shower — rain
  4. scale — in music
  5. drill — the tool
  6. fall — to drop
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. bass — low music
  10. court — of law
  11. present — there
  12. bass — the fish
  13. drill — a practice
  14. present — a gift
  15. scale — size or range
  16. present — the time now
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. field — for sport
  19. court — of a king
  20. court — for sport
  21. drill — army training
  22. shower — to wash
  23. field — a subject
  24. field — farmland

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