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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. row — a line
  3. wind — moving air
  4. rest — what's left
  5. fall — to drop
  6. row — to paddle
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. wind — moving air
  11. chip — to eat
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. lean — thin
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — a break
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. fall — the season
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. mine — for digging
  22. lean — to bend
  23. chip — for betting
  24. chip — in a computer

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