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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. track — to keep track
  4. rash — a series
  5. scale — in music
  6. spring — the season
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. track — a song
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — a coil
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. scale — size or range
  15. fall — the season
  16. rash — hasty
  17. dip — to sink
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. fall — to drop
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. plane — a tool
  23. track — a path
  24. plane — in geometry

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