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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. bass — low music
  6. bass — the fish
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. spring — of water
  9. kid — child
  10. fall — to drop
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. pitch — completely
  13. spring — a coil
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. court — for sport
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. court — of law
  19. fall — the season
  20. court — of a king
  21. spring — the season
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. kid — to tease
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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