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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. rest — a break
  3. degree — an amount
  4. fall — to drop
  5. wind — moving air
  6. rest — what's left
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. cold — an illness
  11. rest — what's left
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. degree — from a university
  14. wind — moving air
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. degree — temperature
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. lie — to recline
  21. cold — not warm
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bowl — to roll

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