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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. craft — boats
  3. toast — bread
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. chest — a box
  8. bound — obliged
  9. chest — of your body
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. current — of water
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. fall — the season
  14. fall — to drop
  15. chest — of your body
  16. current — electric
  17. kid — child
  18. bound — tied together
  19. bound — certain
  20. kid — to tease
  21. craft — a skill
  22. current — happening now
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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