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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. race — humankind
  3. fall — to drop
  4. board — to get on
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bat — the animal
  7. board — a committee
  8. prune — to trim
  9. race — a contest
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. shower — to wash
  13. race — the arms race
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. staff — employees
  18. shower — rain
  19. staff — a stick
  20. fall — to drop
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. staff — employees
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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