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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. ground — a position
  3. swing — to play on
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. ground — crushed
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. craft — a skill
  9. craft — boats
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. cold — not warm
  12. ground — the earth
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. fall — the season
  15. fall — to drop
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. swing — music
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. pass — a permit
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. lie — to recline
  22. cold — an illness
  23. swing — in golf
  24. temple — a place of worship

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