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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 124 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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — to drop
  4. scale — size or range
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. scale — in music
  7. current — electric
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — a break
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — in cards
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. land — ground
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — the animal
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — a country
  19. current — happening now
  20. current — of water
  21. fall — the season
  22. rest — what's left
  23. toast — bread
  24. hand — part of the body

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