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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. mate — a partner
  3. fall — to drop
  4. land — a country
  5. last — finally
  6. row — to paddle
  7. pop — music
  8. land — ground
  9. last — to go on
  10. row — a line
  11. pop — soda
  12. mate — a friend
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. mate — to breed
  15. last — final
  16. fall — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. craft — boats
  19. craft — a skill
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. pop — to visit
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. trunk — of an elephant

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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