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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. fall — to drop
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. fall — the season
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. scale — size or range
  7. fall — to drop
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. hand — in cards
  12. ball — a dance
  13. scale — in music
  14. ball — a great time
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. track — a path
  17. pound — a weight
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. track — to keep track
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. track — a song
  24. ball — a round shape

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