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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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. fall — the season
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. swing — in golf
  7. swing — to play on
  8. mine — for digging
  9. cap — of ice
  10. tube — the underground
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. game — wild animals
  15. cap — a hat
  16. game — a match
  17. cap — a lid
  18. scale — size or range
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. swing — music
  23. tube — a container
  24. scale — in music

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