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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — to drop
  3. cue — a signal
  4. bank — for money
  5. cue — for pool
  6. land — ground
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bank — of a river
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. cue — a hint
  11. fall — the season
  12. swing — in golf
  13. press — a publisher
  14. perch — the fish
  15. swing — music
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. land — to come down
  18. press — to push
  19. swing — to play on
  20. bank — for money
  21. press — newspapers
  22. land — a country
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. bat — for baseball

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