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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. court — for sport
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — the season
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. branch — a division
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. court — of a king
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. snap — to click
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. chip — for betting
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. chip — to eat
  20. rock — music
  21. rock — a stone
  22. court — of law
  23. wake — a trail
  24. wake — before a funeral

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