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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 120 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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. key — for a lock
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. cell — a phone
  6. fall — the season
  7. face — to point toward
  8. fall — to drop
  9. hand — help
  10. bear — the animal
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. key — the most important part
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. face — part of the head
  18. face — to confront
  19. cell — in biology
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. key — in music
  22. hand — in cards
  23. sharp — clever
  24. kick — in football

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