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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. content — the amount
  3. game — wild animals
  4. wake — a trail
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. club — a group
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. club — for golf
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. rush — hurry
  11. content — happy
  12. fall — the season
  13. fall — to drop
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bore — to tire
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. club — for dancing
  19. bore — to drill
  20. game — a match
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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