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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 116 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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bank — of a river
  4. shower — to wash
  5. bound — obliged
  6. stand — to bear
  7. bank — for money
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. fall — the season
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. shower — rain
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. wind — moving air
  17. content — the amount
  18. bound — tied together
  19. fall — to drop
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. bound — certain
  22. bank — for money
  23. wind — moving air
  24. content — videos and posts

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