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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. row — to paddle
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bear — the animal
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. game — a match
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. pop — music
  10. pop — soda
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. plane — a tool
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. vault — a safe
  15. game — wild animals
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. pop — to visit
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. fall — the season
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. fall — to drop
  24. row — a line

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