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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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. ground — a position
  3. pop — soda
  4. pop — music
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. fall — to drop
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. cell — in biology
  11. root — of a word
  12. ground — crushed
  13. object — an aim
  14. object — to protest
  15. object — a thing
  16. fall — the season
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. root — the cause
  19. root — of a plant
  20. scale — size or range
  21. scale — in music
  22. cell — a phone
  23. pop — to visit
  24. ground — the earth

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