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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. game — a match
  3. ground — a position
  4. bound — obliged
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. game — wild animals
  8. stand — to bear
  9. bound — tied together
  10. ground — crushed
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. bound — certain
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. mine — for digging
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. mark — a trace
  17. bat — the animal
  18. mark — a grade
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. ground — the earth
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — the season

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