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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 partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. fall — to drop
  4. cell — in biology
  5. fall — the season
  6. wound — an injury
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. charge — in control
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. charge — a price
  11. lean — thin
  12. present — the time now
  13. present — a gift
  14. fall — to drop
  15. charge — electricity
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. hand — help
  18. hand — in cards
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. lean — to bend
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. wound — an injury

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