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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 120 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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. track — to keep track
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. cell — in biology
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — the season
  9. wound — an injury
  10. track — a path
  11. bark — to shout
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. track — a song
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. lean — to bend
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. cell — a phone
  22. wound — an injury
  23. lean — thin
  24. cell — in a prison

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