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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. pit — a hole
  3. fall — to drop
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. mine — for digging
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. ball — a great time
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. fall — the season
  11. chair — a leader
  12. pit — in a race
  13. wax — to grow
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. hand — in cards
  19. ball — a dance
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. hand — help

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