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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. spring — of water
  5. fall — the season
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. spring — the season
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. content — happy
  10. spring — a coil
  11. press — a publisher
  12. field — a subject
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. field — for sport
  15. press — to push
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. press — newspapers
  19. field — farmland
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. fall — to drop
  22. game — wild animals
  23. content — the amount
  24. game — a match

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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