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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  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. fall — to drop
  2. spell — magic
  3. spell — a short time
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. chest — of your body
  6. file — a tool
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. file — a document
  12. chest — of your body
  13. fall — to drop
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. file — a line of people
  18. spell — letters
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. chest — a box
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. chair — a leader
  23. calf — of the leg
  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