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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. land — a country
  3. last — to go on
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. field — a subject
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. fall — to drop
  10. field — for sport
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. lean — thin
  13. land — ground
  14. last — final
  15. fall — the season
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. roll — a list
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. last — finally
  20. lean — to bend
  21. roll — a cake
  22. bat — the animal
  23. land — to come down
  24. field — farmland

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