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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. bound — certain
  6. bank — of a river
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. fall — the season
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. bank — for money
  14. bound — tied together
  15. stand — to bear
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bank — for money
  18. content — happy
  19. content — the amount
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. kick — in football
  22. kid — child
  23. bound — obliged
  24. cold — the Cold War

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