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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. cue — a signal
  3. drill — the tool
  4. bass — low music
  5. pit — in a race
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. bass — the fish
  8. fall — the season
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. cue — a hint
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. pit — a hole
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. cue — for pool
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — for digging
  18. wake — a trail
  19. drill — army training
  20. drill — a practice
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. fall — to drop
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. mine — an explosive

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