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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. staff — a stick
  3. staff — employees
  4. mate — a friend
  5. fall — to drop
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. chest — of your body
  10. staff — employees
  11. perch — the fish
  12. row — to paddle
  13. deal — to handle
  14. chest — of your body
  15. ground — crushed
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. fall — the season
  18. ground — the earth
  19. chest — a box
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. ground — a position
  22. mate — a partner
  23. row — a line
  24. mate — to breed

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