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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. bound — obliged
  4. bound — certain
  5. hand — in cards
  6. capital — a city
  7. fall — the season
  8. season — in sport
  9. mug — to rob
  10. tube — a container
  11. season — of the year
  12. mug — a face
  13. fall — to drop
  14. prune — to trim
  15. hand — help
  16. mug — a cup
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bound — tied together
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. tube — the underground
  24. hand — part of the body

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