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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. prune — to trim
  3. season — in sport
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. bat — the animal
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. rush — hurry
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. spring — the season
  13. prune — to trim
  14. spring — a coil
  15. season — of the year
  16. spring — of water
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — the season
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. bat — for baseball

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