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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. suit — in cards
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. bat — the animal
  6. face — to confront
  7. suit — clothes
  8. fall — the season
  9. hand — help
  10. kid — child
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. face — to point toward
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. face — part of the head
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. fall — to drop
  17. kid — to tease
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. capital — a city
  20. plane — a tool
  21. capital — money
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. suit — to fit

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