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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. fall — to drop
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. fall — to drop
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. club — for dancing
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. degree — from a university
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. club — for golf
  11. roll — a cake
  12. lean — thin
  13. degree — temperature
  14. degree — an amount
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. dip — to sink
  17. lean — to bend
  18. fall — the season
  19. wind — moving air
  20. roll — a list
  21. club — a group
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wind — moving air
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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