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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. net — after costs
  3. craft — boats
  4. fall — the season
  5. fall — to drop
  6. scale — in music
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. fall — to drop
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. dip — to sink
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. court — of a king
  15. craft — a skill
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. net — for catching
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. net — in sport
  21. scale — size or range
  22. court — of law
  23. court — for sport
  24. ruler — a monarch

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