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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. ground — a position
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. fall — to drop
  5. swing — in golf
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. fall — to drop
  10. object — to protest
  11. swing — music
  12. object — a thing
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. lie — to recline
  17. date — the fruit
  18. swing — to play on
  19. capital — money
  20. capital — a city
  21. fall — the season
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. object — an aim
  24. ground — the earth

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