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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 124 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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — to drop
  3. mug — a face
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. chest — a box
  6. face — to confront
  7. face — part of the head
  8. chest — of your body
  9. sharp — clever
  10. scale — in music
  11. mug — to rob
  12. mug — a cup
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — of water
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — size or range
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. fall — the season
  20. face — to point toward
  21. spring — a coil
  22. chest — of your body
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. sharp — with an edge

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