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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. cold — an illness
  3. last — final
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. board — to get on
  9. deal — to handle
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. fall — to drop
  13. last — to go on
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. last — finally
  16. cold — not warm
  17. fall — the season
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. wound — an injury
  20. board — a committee
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

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