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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 is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. mate — a friend
  3. net — for catching
  4. fall — to drop
  5. track — to keep track
  6. kid — to tease
  7. spell — letters
  8. spell — magic
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. fall — the season
  11. ball — a great time
  12. track — a song
  13. lean — to bend
  14. kid — child
  15. net — in sport
  16. net — after costs
  17. spell — a short time
  18. mate — a partner
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. fall — to drop
  22. mate — to breed
  23. ball — a dance
  24. track — a path

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