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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. vault — a safe
  3. press — to push
  4. fall — to drop
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. date — the fruit
  8. dip — to sink
  9. swing — in golf
  10. swing — music
  11. wound — an injury
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. fall — the season
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. fall — to drop
  17. press — a publisher
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wound — an injury
  20. press — newspapers
  21. swing — to play on
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. dip — to dunk

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