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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wind — moving air
  4. fall — the season
  5. track — a song
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. track — to keep track
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. fall — to drop
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. sharp — clever
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. wake — a trail
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. fall — to drop
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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