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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. march — the month
  3. cold — an illness
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. fall — to drop
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. lie — to recline
  11. march — the month
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. fall — the season
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — not warm
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. wake — a trail
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. dip — to sink
  21. march — music
  22. fall — to drop
  23. pitch — completely
  24. fork — in a road

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