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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 116 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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. spring — of water
  3. spell — letters
  4. fall — to drop
  5. can — a tin
  6. can — to be able to
  7. fall — the season
  8. swing — to play on
  9. spell — a short time
  10. spring — a coil
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. swing — in golf
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bat — the animal
  16. squash — the sport
  17. spring — the season
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. can — a tin
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. squash — to crush
  23. swing — music
  24. spell — magic

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