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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. wind — moving air
  6. ball — a dance
  7. band — a music group
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. pitch — completely
  10. prune — to trim
  11. shower — to wash
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. ball — a great time
  14. ground — a position
  15. ground — the earth
  16. band — a ring
  17. fall — to drop
  18. ground — crushed
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. wind — moving air
  21. fall — the season
  22. shower — rain
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. prune — to trim

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