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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. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. wind — moving air
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. wake — a trail
  6. court — of law
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. can — a tin
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. can — a tin
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. cold — not warm
  15. fall — the season
  16. court — of a king
  17. can — to be able to
  18. bark — to shout
  19. wind — moving air
  20. cold — an illness
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. court — for sport
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. fall — to drop

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