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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. wind — moving air
  3. file — a tool
  4. present — a gift
  5. degree — an amount
  6. rash — hasty
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. file — a document
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. degree — from a university
  12. spell — letters
  13. spell — a short time
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wind — moving air
  16. spell — magic
  17. fall — the season
  18. degree — temperature
  19. rash — a series
  20. present — the time now
  21. present — there
  22. file — a line of people
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bowl — to roll

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