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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. game — wild animals
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. race — the arms race
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — a contest
  10. fall — to drop
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. game — a match
  13. swing — in golf
  14. tube — a container
  15. tube — the underground
  16. face — to point toward
  17. swing — to play on
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. fall — the season
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. face — to confront
  23. face — part of the head
  24. swing — music

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