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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. hand — in cards
  3. fall — the season
  4. snap — to click
  5. present — there
  6. wound — an injury
  7. present — the time now
  8. chair — a leader
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. fall — to drop
  11. net — in sport
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. net — after costs
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. net — for catching
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. present — a gift
  19. bear — the animal
  20. hand — help
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bear — the animal
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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