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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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468
Word bank
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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 water is too ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. cold — not warm
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. hand — in cards
  6. press — to push
  7. fall — to drop
  8. press — newspapers
  9. cold — an illness
  10. spell — a short time
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. pop — soda
  13. fall — the season
  14. spell — letters
  15. press — a publisher
  16. pop — music
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cell — in biology
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. spell — magic
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. hand — help
  23. pop — to visit
  24. cell — a phone

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