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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. rest — what's left
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. court — of a king
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. fall — the season
  10. wound — an injury
  11. rest — what's left
  12. court — for sport
  13. march — the month
  14. wound — an injury
  15. content — happy
  16. rest — a break
  17. fall — to drop
  18. march — music
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. march — the month
  21. content — the amount
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. court — of law
  24. mine — for digging

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