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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. mine — for digging
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. pound — a weight
  9. fall — the season
  10. last — finally
  11. last — to go on
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. last — final
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. fall — to drop
  16. field — farmland
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. hand — help
  19. lean — thin
  20. field — a subject
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. lean — to bend
  23. hand — in cards
  24. field — for sport

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