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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. mate — a friend
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. bass — low music
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. mate — to breed
  7. drill — a practice
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. mate — a partner
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. game — a match
  16. fall — the season
  17. game — wild animals
  18. drill — army training
  19. fall — to drop
  20. bass — the fish
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. dip — to sink
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. drill — the tool

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