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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. bulb — for light
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. fall — to drop
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. row — to paddle
  9. bulb — for light
  10. fall — the season
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. snap — to click
  13. fine — all right
  14. file — a tool
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. squash — to crush
  18. row — a line
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. file — a document
  21. squash — the sport
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. file — a line of people
  24. fine — high quality

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