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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. fall — to drop
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. wound — an injury
  5. season — of the year
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. march — the month
  9. fall — the season
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. fall — to drop
  16. march — the month
  17. wound — an injury
  18. row — to paddle
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. wind — moving air
  21. march — music
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. season — in sport
  24. arm — a part of something

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