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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. cap — a lid
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. sharp — clever
  5. fall — to drop
  6. squash — the sport
  7. pitch — completely
  8. mug — to rob
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. fall — the season
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. root — of a word
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. cap — of ice
  16. root — the cause
  17. root — of a plant
  18. mug — a face
  19. mug — a cup
  20. cap — a hat
  21. mine — for digging
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. squash — to crush
  24. mine — belonging to me

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