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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. wind — moving air
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. rest — a break
  7. rest — what's left
  8. fall — the season
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. fall — to drop
  11. perch — the fish
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. track — to keep track
  17. wind — moving air
  18. track — a path
  19. rest — what's left
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. track — a song

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