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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 124 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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. fall — to drop
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. bat — the animal
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. chair — a leader
  15. sharp — clever
  16. rush — hurry
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. fall — to drop
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. date — the fruit
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. fall — the season

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