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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 116 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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. pop — to visit
  3. kick — in football
  4. field — a subject
  5. fall — the season
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. object — an aim
  8. pop — music
  9. lean — thin
  10. hand — in cards
  11. pop — soda
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. fall — to drop
  15. hand — help
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. lean — to bend
  18. object — a thing
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. object — to protest
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — for sport
  24. snap — to click

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