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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. mine — for digging
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. row — a line
  9. fall — to drop
  10. row — to paddle
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. wind — moving air
  13. fall — the season
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. wind — moving air
  18. saw — the tool
  19. cap — a lid
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. cap — of ice
  22. saw — the tool
  23. stand — to bear
  24. cap — a hat

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