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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. fall — to drop
  3. swing — in golf
  4. fall — to drop
  5. foot — a measure
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. capital — money
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. court — of law
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. fall — the season
  12. court — for sport
  13. tube — a container
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. swing — to play on
  16. court — of a king
  17. capital — a city
  18. bat — the animal
  19. season — of the year
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. swing — music
  22. season — in sport
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. bat — in an idiom

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