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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. kid — child
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — to drop
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. plane — a tool
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. chest — of your body
  12. last — final
  13. last — finally
  14. last — to go on
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. fall — the season
  17. chest — of your body
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. chest — a box
  20. wound — an injury
  21. prune — to trim
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. kid — to tease

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