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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. scale — size or range
  3. track — to keep track
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fall — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. cell — in biology
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. snap — to click
  14. scale — in music
  15. cell — a phone
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. track — a path
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. track — a song
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — to trim
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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