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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 belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. club — a group
  3. bulb — for light
  4. march — music
  5. fall — the season
  6. mine — for digging
  7. march — the month
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. club — for dancing
  12. bulb — for light
  13. club — for golf
  14. scale — size or range
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. fall — to drop
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. lean — thin
  20. fork — in a road
  21. lean — to bend
  22. scale — in music
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. march — the month

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