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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. cap — a lid
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — to drop
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. swing — to play on
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. swing — music
  10. sharp — clever
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. bear — the animal
  13. cap — of ice
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. swing — in golf
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. bear — the animal
  21. cap — a hat
  22. mine — for digging
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. fall — the season

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