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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 120 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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. race — humankind
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. bat — the animal
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a line of people
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. fall — to drop
  15. pit — a hole
  16. race — the arms race
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. race — a contest
  19. fall — the season
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. file — a tool
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. pit — in a race

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