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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. present — a gift
  3. cue — a hint
  4. cue — for pool
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — the season
  7. charge — electricity
  8. present — there
  9. cap — a hat
  10. wound — an injury
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. cue — a signal
  13. wound — an injury
  14. charge — a price
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. present — the time now
  17. tear — from crying
  18. cap — a lid
  19. tear — from crying
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. charge — in control
  22. cap — of ice
  23. tear — to rip
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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