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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. last — final
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. foot — a measure
  6. fall — to drop
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. fall — the season
  13. last — finally
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. wake — a trail
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. perch — the fish
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. kick — in football
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. last — to go on
  24. perch — for a bird

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