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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. shower — to wash
  3. fall — to drop
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. bear — the animal
  7. ball — a great time
  8. spell — magic
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. spell — a short time
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. scale — in music
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. spell — letters
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. fall — to drop
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. stand — to bear
  21. shower — rain
  22. bear — the animal
  23. ball — a dance
  24. scale — size or range

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