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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. content — the amount
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. content — happy
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. season — of the year
  7. season — in sport
  8. shower — rain
  9. fall — the season
  10. last — final
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. lean — to bend
  13. tube — a container
  14. tube — the underground
  15. lean — thin
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. fall — to drop
  18. shower — to wash
  19. last — finally
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. last — to go on
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bark — to shout

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