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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. fall — to drop
  3. last — to go on
  4. mug — to rob
  5. root — of a plant
  6. cold — an illness
  7. mug — a face
  8. fall — to drop
  9. pop — to visit
  10. last — finally
  11. root — the cause
  12. fall — the season
  13. root — of a word
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. last — final
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. game — wild animals
  18. mug — a cup
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. game — a match
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. stand — to bear
  23. pop — soda
  24. pop — 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