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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fine — all right
  3. chest — of your body
  4. face — part of the head
  5. saw — the tool
  6. chest — a box
  7. pop — soda
  8. wound — an injury
  9. fine — high quality
  10. cap — a hat
  11. pop — to visit
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. pop — music
  14. chest — of your body
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. face — to confront
  17. wound — an injury
  18. face — to point toward
  19. cap — a lid
  20. fall — the season
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. saw — the tool
  23. fall — to drop
  24. cap — of ice

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