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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 116 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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. court — of law
  3. rash — a series
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. bat — the animal
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. rash — hasty
  8. spell — a short time
  9. kick — in football
  10. spell — magic
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. fall — the season
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. court — of a king
  17. lean — thin
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. spell — letters
  20. fall — to drop
  21. lean — to bend
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. court — for sport
  24. kick — with a leg

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