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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. fall — to drop
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. club — a group
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. face — to point toward
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. face — part of the head
  15. face — to confront
  16. wake — a trail
  17. lie — to recline
  18. fall — to drop
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. fall — the season
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. club — for golf

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