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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — to drop
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — not warm
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. cold — an illness
  8. spring — of water
  9. spring — the season
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. wax — to grow
  13. band — a ring
  14. spring — a coil
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. lie — to recline
  19. fall — the season
  20. band — a music group
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. foot — a measure

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