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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. row — to paddle
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. fall — to drop
  6. row — a line
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. wind — moving air
  9. track — a song
  10. wind — moving air
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. spring — the season
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. track — a path
  18. track — to keep track
  19. fall — the season
  20. chair — a leader
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. spring — a coil
  24. spring — of water

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