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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  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. hand — help
  2. mark — a grade
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fall — to drop
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. hand — in cards
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. mark — a trace
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — the season
  21. wind — moving air
  22. mine — for digging
  23. cabinet — ministers
  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