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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. content — happy
  3. file — a line of people
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. fall — the season
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. content — the amount
  11. squash — to crush
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. squash — the sport
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. file — a document
  19. foot — a measure
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. file — a tool
  24. racket — a loud noise

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