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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. fall — to drop
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. chest — of your body
  5. mine — for digging
  6. wake — a trail
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. row — a line
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. fall — the season
  11. can — a tin
  12. can — to be able to
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. fall — to drop
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. can — a tin
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. row — to paddle
  22. chest — of your body
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. chest — a box

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