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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. bat — the animal
  4. fall — the season
  5. land — ground
  6. ball — a dance
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. saw — the tool
  9. land — a country
  10. fall — to drop
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — a box
  13. fall — to drop
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. fine — high quality
  16. saw — the tool
  17. land — to come down
  18. fine — all right
  19. chest — of your body
  20. ball — a great time
  21. present — the time now
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. present — a gift
  24. fine — a penalty

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