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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. swing — in golf
  3. swing — music
  4. fall — to drop
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. kid — to tease
  8. track — a song
  9. pitch — completely
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. track — to keep track
  12. swing — to play on
  13. ground — crushed
  14. rash — hasty
  15. track — a path
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. ground — a position
  18. bark — to shout
  19. ground — the earth
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. fall — the season
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. kid — child
  24. rash — a series

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