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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. fall — to drop
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. rest — a break
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. swing — to play on
  8. swing — in golf
  9. swing — music
  10. chair — a leader
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. plane — a tool
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. rest — what's left
  15. fall — the season
  16. field — a subject
  17. fall — to drop
  18. field — for sport
  19. hand — in cards
  20. dip — to sink
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. rest — what's left
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. field — farmland

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