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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. root — of a word
  3. lean — thin
  4. swing — in golf
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. degree — temperature
  9. root — of a plant
  10. last — finally
  11. swing — music
  12. tear — from crying
  13. lean — to bend
  14. last — to go on
  15. vault — a safe
  16. last — final
  17. tear — to rip
  18. degree — an amount
  19. fall — to drop
  20. swing — to play on
  21. tear — from crying
  22. fall — the season
  23. root — the cause
  24. degree — from a university

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