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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. staff — employees
  3. file — a tool
  4. spell — a short time
  5. root — of a plant
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. file — a document
  8. root — of a word
  9. saw — the tool
  10. fall — the season
  11. kick — in football
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. shower — rain
  14. saw — the tool
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. file — a line of people
  17. staff — a stick
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. shower — to wash
  20. spell — letters
  21. fall — to drop
  22. staff — employees
  23. root — the cause
  24. spell — magic

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