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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  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. bowl — a dish
  3. wind — moving air
  4. fall — the season
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. root — of a plant
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. root — of a word
  10. wake — a trail
  11. pop — to visit
  12. pop — soda
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. craft — a skill
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. wind — moving air
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. pop — music
  21. craft — boats
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. root — the cause
  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