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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 124 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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. current — happening now
  3. court — for sport
  4. march — the month
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. hand — help
  7. present — the time now
  8. march — the month
  9. fall — to drop
  10. court — of a king
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. fall — the season
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. present — there
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. court — of law
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. current — electric
  19. march — music
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. current — of water
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. hand — in cards
  24. present — a gift

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