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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. rush — hurry
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. prune — to trim
  7. fall — to drop
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. prune — to trim
  13. scale — in music
  14. perch — the fish
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. scale — size or range
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wake — a trail
  22. fall — the season
  23. plane — a tool
  24. plane — an aircraft

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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