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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. club — a group
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. last — to go on
  6. press — a publisher
  7. club — for dancing
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. cell — in biology
  12. bat — the animal
  13. fall — to drop
  14. club — for golf
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. fall — the season
  17. press — newspapers
  18. wax — to grow
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. last — final
  21. cell — a phone
  22. last — finally
  23. press — to push
  24. deal — to handle

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