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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. fall — to drop
  3. root — of a word
  4. fall — to drop
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. fall — the season
  7. firm — a company
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. current — of water
  10. current — electric
  11. date — the fruit
  12. chest — of your body
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. current — happening now
  15. spring — a coil
  16. root — the cause
  17. root — of a plant
  18. firm — steady
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bat — the animal
  21. spring — the season
  22. spring — of water
  23. firm — decided
  24. chest — a box

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