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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. present — there
  3. present — the time now
  4. kick — in football
  5. present — a gift
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. fall — the season
  9. spell — magic
  10. fall — to drop
  11. spell — a short time
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. bore — to drill
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. spell — letters
  23. bore — to tire
  24. mine — for digging

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