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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. kid — child
  3. dip — to sink
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. ground — crushed
  8. kid — to tease
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. band — a music group
  12. ground — a position
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. ground — the earth
  16. hand — help
  17. fall — the season
  18. mark — a trace
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. fall — to drop
  21. hand — in cards
  22. band — a ring
  23. mark — a grade
  24. mark — to pay attention

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