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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. fall — to drop
  3. stem — to come from
  4. scale — size or range
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. scale — in music
  7. rest — a break
  8. fall — to drop
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. game — wild animals
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. foot — a measure
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. rest — what's left
  17. fall — the season
  18. rest — what's left
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — a match
  21. kid — child
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. plane — a tool
  24. stem — of a plant

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