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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. fall — to drop
  3. swing — in golf
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. lie — to recline
  6. swing — music
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bank — for money
  9. club — a group
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. bank — of a river
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. face — to point toward
  15. fall — the season
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. bank — for money
  19. swing — to play on
  20. club — for golf
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. face — part of the head
  24. face — to confront

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