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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. fall — to drop
  5. wound — an injury
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. rest — what's left
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. root — of a plant
  12. rest — what's left
  13. scale — in music
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. wake — a trail
  17. fall — the season
  18. root — of a word
  19. wound — an injury
  20. rest — a break
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. scale — size or range
  23. root — the cause
  24. kick — in football

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