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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. chest — of your body
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. ground — crushed
  5. tear — to rip
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. pitch — completely
  11. ground — the earth
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. fall — to drop
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. ground — a position
  19. tear — from crying
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. fall — the season
  22. foot — a measure
  23. chest — a box
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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